Watch & Listen

The Red Wheelbarrow, by Sam Dabrusin

so much depends upon

a red wheel barrow

glazed with rain water

beside the white chickens

Early 2026 marked a celebration of Doug Colpitts singing with the choir for 50 years. Sam Dabrusin, a long-time tenor in the choir, was commissioned to write a piece, based on the above poetry by William Carlos Williams, which happens to be Doug’s favourite poem, to commemorate the occasion.

Sam Dabrusin grew up in a musical family in the Alberta towns Fort McMurray and Red Deer. After studying Political Science and Japanese at UBC and finishing his music degree at VCC, much of his life and work has focused on singing (barbershop, Vancouver Chamber Choir, VCS), conducting (currently Shaughnessy Heights United Church and Soundscape A Cappella chorus), and arranging and composing.

Doug writes: “As any avid vegetable gardener will attest, a wheelbarrow is a necessity in the backyard garden. My first wheelbarrow was a wooden beauty (similar to the one pictured below, with removable sides) that was discovered by my dear mother-in-law, Mary, at a garage sale in the late 1970’s. She made a few repairs, painted it a dark brown and gifted it to me. Yes, compared to the modern steel or plastic barrows, it was heavy and awkward to use but it was in regular use for the next 20 years until it went into retirement as a garden ornament for a neighbour down the street. I still picture it fondly, sitting in the back garden ready and willing to help, albeit unaccompanied by chickens.”