Port Carling’s “First Family of Music” assembles for gala fundraiser

Friends of Port Carling Inc. has just released new details about its Aug. 13 fund-raiser, “The Power and Glory of Music: The Dodingtons in Concert.”

The Port Carling concert features 10 members of the Dodington family, who have lived in and around Port Carling for decades. Their combined musical experience includes professional and amateur performances of opera, country and western, classical, spiritual, musical theatre and popular music, all over Canada.

“This concert will be a historic event in Muskoka,” said Friends of Port Carling president Rick Spence. “Not even the Osmonds, the Partridge Family or the Von Trapps can compete with the Dodingtons in quality and depth of repertoire.”

On Aug. 13, the extended Dodington clan will take the stage together for the first time ever. Their program will include crowd-pleasing selections from opera, the spirituals, and classical music. The second half will present country music classics and timeless songs from West Side Story, Phantom of the Opera, The Lion King, and other popular works.

“Our whole family is looking forward to this event,” says concert organizer John Dodington. “My brothers and I haven't sung together as a trio or in a quartet for 40 years.”

The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Port Carling Community Centre. Proceeds go to the Friends of Port Carling OMB Fund, to offset expenses incurred last year in appealing the proposed boundary expansion of Port Carling.

Who are the Dodingtons?

The three Dodington brothers –­­ Paul, Ross and John – learned to sing growing up in their family home in North Toronto. Their father, Jim, was a prominent lyric tenor who gave up a promising professional career to focus on his family. The brothers spent every summer in Muskoka, where their Auntie Doodie ran Wharerah resort on Silver Lake, just outside Port Carling, for nearly half a century. Paul Dodington moved to Silver Lake permanently in the 1970s, while Ross and John divide their time between Port Carling and “other homes” in southern Ontario.

Brief Bios:

• Paul Dodington has sung all his life, in bands, choirs (especially with Orillia’s Cellar Singers), and Gilbert & Sullivan operettas. But he is probably best known as “the Dippy Doctor” for his work repairing classic Muskoka wooden boats, especially the famous Disappearing Propellor Boats originally built in Port Carling. His daughter Victoria Banks was named Female Artist of the Year in 2010 by the Canadian Country Music Association.
• Ross Dodington performed for years with the Festival Singers, Canada’s first professional choir, often heard on CBC Radio. With Paul, he sang in a country band, The Hockley Valley Boys. He is bass soloist at First St. Andrew's United Church in London, Ont., and loves the hits of George Jones.
• John Dodington is an actor and musician who has sung with all of Canada’s major symphonies and opera companies. For seven years he sang in the cast of Livent’s Toronto production of The Phantom of the Opera. He teaches music in Alliston, Ont. and runs an antique business (Auntie Doodie’s) in Port Carling. John will soon be seen in Reel Love, a made-for-TV movie starring Burt Reynolds and LeAnne Rimes.
• Linda Dodington is Ross’s wife, and a partner in their organ-repair business in London, Ont. She will sing tenor in the Dodingtons’ barbershop quartet, a role last played by Jim Dodington some 50 years ago.
• Amy Dodington, Paul’s daughter, is a multitalented musician and former member of the Ontario Youth Choir. She is soprano soloist with Kingsway-Lambton United Church and the Toronto Chamber Choir. She recently completed two solo concerts in Gravenhurst and Huntsville.
• J.D. Dodington, son of Ross, is a musician and bass guitar player. He works with Ross and Linda in their organ-repair business.
• Leigh and Erin Dodington, daughters of John, are seasoned musical performers. John says they get their talent from their mother, Canadian mezzo-soprano Catherine Robbin.
• Andrew and Hannah Dodington, John’s son and youngest daughter, have sung at school concerts and weddings. They will next be seen on stage at the Port Carling Community Centre on Aug. 24 and 25 in a kids’ concert benefitting the Colin B. Glassco Charitable Foundation for Children.

“This multi-generational event will be perfect summer entertainment for the whole family. There’s something for everyone,” said Friends of Port Carling’s Spence. “The Dodingtons have been making music for 50 years, but this may be the only opportunity to see them all on the same stage at one time.”

Tickets to “The Power and Glory of Music: The Dodingtons in Concert” are available at two venues in Port Carling: Ella’s Place Restaurant, at 81 Joseph St., and Auntie Doodie’s Antiques at 61 Joseph St. You can also call 705 765-6017 to get more information or buy tickets over the phone.

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For more information contact Rick Spence at 705 765-6017, or at rick (at) friendsofportcarling.com


Click here to download the PDF press release.