Photo Courtesy of Janis Ambel

On September 2, 2004, Sault Ste. Marie said farewell to a man who helped shape the cultural landscape of our city: Arno Ambel. He was a man with a vision who, like so many others in this city, earned a living by working at Algoma Steel. But his passion was music. He had been trained in voice and piano by accomplished teachers in his native Estonia.

Turmoil in Europe forced Arno Ambel to leave his native land of Estonia. In 1949, he immigrated to Canada, making his home in Sault Ste. Marie. In his spare time, he devoted his energies to promoting the arts.

The Arts Council of Sault Ste. Marie – then the Allied Arts Council of Sault Ste. Marie – was privileged to have Arno as a charter member at its establishment in 1968. He was also a founding member of the Sault Opera Society [http://www.odpluminos.com/saultopera] (now Sault Opera). In 1987, he arranged the formation of the Sault Youth Theatre under the sponsorship of the Sault Opera.

Arno has been a driving force behind too many musical endeavours in Sault Ste. Marie to name. When I talked to him a few months before his death, he mentioned one that was especially dear to him. Though the Musical Guild had staged performances of Broadway musicals, he felt Sault Ste. Marie was ready to embrace opera. Mozart's Marriage of Figaro was the first classical opera performed in Sault Ste. Marie. Arno was producer, choir master, designer, and lead performer. Despite all the dire predictions that there was not enough interest in opera in Sault Ste. Marie, the public responded favourably – the company lost only $80!

Maybe less known is Arno's involvement with the Estonian community. He was a founding member of the Estonian Lutheran Church in Sault Ste. Marie, formed the Estonian Association of Sault Ste. Marie, conducted an Estonian choir, and conducted the Sault German-Austrian Centennial Choir. He was conductor & arranger of the G. Marconi Italian Choir from 1977 to 1980.

In the last year of his life, despite serious health problems, Arno and his wife, Janis, sang duets – some of them his own compositions – at services at Zion Lutheran Church. He also was a member of the choir that performed Judas Maccabaeus earlier this year.

Sault Ste. Marie laid one of its cultural heroes to rest. The bilingual service was conducted in Estonian and English. Zion's Choir (under the direction of Karen Kettles) sang hauntingly 'Peace Be with You', Christine Aciti's voice floated like that of angel across the hushed congregation, and Paul Dingle played on the piano. A fitting tribute to Arno Ambel – a pioneer, a man who changed the musical scene of Sault Ste. Marie.

May he sing with the angels!
– Karin Seidemann