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CANARY PAGES theWholeNote 2020/21 CANARY PAGES DIRECTORY ●●Grace Church on-the-Hill Choirs The choir of Grace Church on-the-Hill proudly embraces our excellent Anglican choral tradition while looking towards the future for new inspiration. Our choirs for both adults and children sing weekly from September to June. Our children’s choirs provide the ideal learning environment for young musicians, and we have funding available to subsidize the cost of music lessons for our children! Choristers of all ages develop lifelong friendships, self-esteem, and the joy of coming together to sing. We take a choir tour every year. Some tours are small, like a day trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake, and some tours are larger, such as our two-week tour to sing in cathedrals in Dublin and Oxford in 2016. We welcome new members every September. SARAH HICKS 416-488-7884 music@gracechurchonthehill.ca www.gracechurchonthehill.ca ●●Grand Philharmonic Choir The Grand Philharmonic Choir, under the artistic direction of Mark Vuorinen, brings the enchantment of choral music experiences to our community. Our singers range in age from 7 to 80 years old and participate in one of four choirs: the adult main choir; the adult chamber choir; the youth choir; or the children’s choir. We sing in Kitchener’s acoustically superior Centre in the Square and in local church buildings. Through these performances, we strive to transform our community into a more harmonious and peaceful place. ADMINISTRATOR 519-578-5669 x5290 info@grandphilchoir.com www.grandphilchoir.com ●●Harbourfront Chorus Did you know that choral singing improves health and happiness? You are invited to join Harbourfront Chorus, a non-auditioned community choir. We perform a wide range of music that spans from early Renaissance music to contemporary popular songs. Rehearsals run Tuesdays from 7:45pm to 9:15pm at the Waterfront Neighbourhood Centre, located at the south-east corner of Queens Quay W. and Bathurst St. Our season runs September through May. The 2020/21 season begins Tuesday, September 15. ALBERT WONG 416-392-1509 harbourfrontchorus@gmail.com www.facebook.com/harbourfrontchorus ●●Healey Willan Singers The ensemble was originally formed as a youth choir to celebrate Dr. Willan’s 125th anniversary in 2005. Since 2007, the choir has reinvented itself into a women’s ensemble and has become one of the finest women’s ensembles in the city. Rehearsals run from September to April on Saturday mornings from 10:15am to 12:30pm. This season, the choir will perform Antonio Vivaldi’s Gloria with orchestra on December 5, 2020. On April 24, 2021, the ensemble will end their season with a concert of music chosen by the choristers in celebration of our 15th anniversary season. Auditions are held throughout the year. Apprentice conductor program is also available. Rehearsals and concerts are held at the Church of St. Martin in-the-Fields, located at 151 Glenlake Avenue (near Keele and Bloor Street West in Toronto). RON CHEUNG 416-519-0528 healeywillansingers@yahoo.ca www.healeywillansingers.com ●●Jubilate Singers The Jubilate Singers, a community choir of about 40 voices directed by Isabel Bernaus, specializes in music from a variety of traditions and time periods, sung in original languages. We normally feature a non-auditioned main chorus and an auditioned chamber choir and present three concerts a year, with additional community appearances. This year we are becoming a virtual choir, with online rehearsals on Tuesday evenings, open to anyone interested. We will learn some new repertoire, sing some favourites, and work on vocal skills through occasional workshops and guest clinicians. We will also take our famous Jubilate potlucks online, and use other social activities to build and maintain a sense of community until we can all come together again in person. Call us for more information! PAULINE MCKENZIE 416-223-7690 pkenzie3@gmail.com www.jubilatesingers.ca ●●King Edward Choir Founded in 1952 by Jean Dobson, Barrie’s King Edward Choir today is a group of 50 dedicated musicians encompassing all voices, striving to present a repertoire that is broad and engaging to both chorister and audience: recent years have seen performances of works by Britten, Mozart, Bernstein, Vivaldi, Mark Sirett, Stephanie Martin, Imant Raminsh and Ruth Watson Henderson, along with offerings of Renaissance motets, Spirituals, folk songs and show tunes. The choir frequently collaborates with other artists and groups, and enjoys community sing-outs. Rehearsals for our three annual performances take place Monday nights, and new members are welcome at any time. Under the direction of interim conductor, Leanne Edwards, KEC continues to plan for a new season! PETER SULLIVAN 070-5739-7281 pesullivan71@gmail.com www.kingedwardchoir.ca ●●Leaside Chancel Choir The Leaside Chancel Choir provides musical leadership at weekly Sunday morning service at 10:30am, community outreach projects/events, and concerts year-round. The choir is made up of paid section leads and volunteer participants, and welcomes new singers throughout the year. Recent choral works have included Requiem by Eleanor Daley and The Seven Last Words by Heinrich Schutz. Rehearsals take place on Thursday evenings from 7:30pm to 9:30pm, and offer an opportunity to develop musicianship through vocal instruction, while being a part of an open and welcoming community. In addition, our Junior Choir provides the ideal learning environment for young musicians. The Junior Choir rehearses Thursday evenings from 6:30pm to 7:15pm. For more information, contact Matthew Boutda, director of music. MATTHEW BOUTDA 647-981-3705 mattboutda@hotmail.com www.leasideunited.org ●●London Pro Musica Choir London Pro Musica is an auditioned, mixedvoice choir based in London, Ontario, Canada. LPMC is an inclusive and multi-generational, member-managed adult choral organization under the professional leadership of Markus Howard, dedicated to engaging audiences by providing and promoting artistic excellence in the London area and beyond, through education, outreach and high quality performances of choral music. We perform an extensive range of classical music - from the medieval to the contemporary - both for accompanied and unaccompanied voices. NANCY KNOWLES 519-914-5769 marketing@londonpromusica.ca www.londonpromusica.ca ●●Lyrica Chamber Choir Founded in 2000 by the late Natalyia Gurin and directed since 2005 by Steve Winfield, Lyrica Chamber Choir of Barrie strives to present eclectic and evocative programs of excellent choral chamber music. The 40 singers of Lyrica demonstrate a strong desire to present artistically varied choral programs with a high degree of musicianship to the community of Barrie and surrounding area. Recent highlights include performances of Marc- Antoine Charpentier’s Messe de Minuit pour Noël, Benjamin Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols, Ola Gjeilo’s Dark Night of the Soul and Josef Rheinberger’s Missa in G “St. Crucis” Op. 151. Professional soloists and instrumental musicians regularly join Lyrica for performances. Our accompanist, Brent Mayhew, enhances the choir’s performances. STEVE WINFIELD 705-722-0271 steve.winfield@sympatico.ca www.lyricachoir.ca C6
●●MCS Chorus MCS Chorus, a chamber choir of 35 auditioned voices, is Mississauga’s only adult choral organization committed to the choral classical repertoire. MCS Chorus offers a diversified season of extensive community engagement events and ticketed concerts performed with chamber orchestras, instrumental ensembles and soloists. This wide range of programming contributes a strong and unique voice to the cultural fabric of the city. MCS is dedicated to bringing the choir’s performances into the communities of Mississauga under the dynamic leadership of artistic director Mervin William Fick. SANDY 905-278-7059 info@mcschorus.ca www.mcschorus.com ●●Men of Note MCS CHORUS The Men of Note four-part non-auditioned male voice choir of over thirty strong, based in Stouffville, Ontario, has recently celebrated twenty years of song. Our main desire is to have fun singing. Always hoping to grow, we invite men of all ages with a similar passion to join. We rehearse every Monday night at the Stouffville United Church, 34 Church St., Stouffville. Choir members hail from across the GTA, from Toronto to Uxbridge. Men of Note is built on a foundation of Fellowship, Community Service and a quest for musical excellence. Our goal is to provide music across many genres, to entertain locally and to develop musical connections with other choirs, both across Canada and abroad. Check out our website for more. GORD BIBBY 416-509-5249 info@menofnote.com www.menofnote.com ●●Milton Choristers This dynamic four-part community choir has entertained audiences in Halton Region and beyond. The 50-member choir performs two major concerts per choir year, often including premier guest soloists and musicians. We also enjoy performing at numerous local events. Our director, Rachel Cleland, is expanding our already varied repertoire. From classical to contemporary, sacred to secular, we sing it all. Rehearsals are Tuesday nights from 7:30pm to 9:30pm from September to June. A love of singing, some sight reading and a sense of humour are all you need to become a Milton Chorister. BILL MCLEAN 905-875-1730 info@miltonchoristers.com www.miltonchoristers.com ●●Mississauga Festival Chamber Choir Mississauga Festival Chamber Choir (MFCC) was formed in 2008 as a smaller branch of the large ensemble, Mississauga Festival Choir (MFC). This 26-voice, auditioned choir delights audiences with intimate and challenging works of music, their most recent being The Wound in the Water by Kim Andre Arnesen with string orchestra. MFCC performs an annual concert, as well as various performances throughout the season, serving as an ambassador for MFC. They reach out to the community in a variety of venues from the Port Credit Library to Hammerson Hall. All experienced choral singers are now welcome to audition, as it is no longer a requirement to sing with MFC to be part of Mississauga Festival Chamber Choir. JENNY JOHNSTON 416-986-5537 choiradmin@mfchoir.com www.mfchoir.com ●●Mississauga Festival Choir With over 150 singers, Mississauga Festival Choir is the largest and most spirited community choir in our city. Our Mission is to enrich lives through music by way of performance, education and outreach, while valuing excellence in choral music. Under the leadership of David Ambrose, MFC also host three subsidiary choirs: Mississauga Festival Chamber Choir, an auditioned group which explores intimate and challenging works; Resonance, a non-auditioned choir for youth and young adults aged 15 to 28 directed by Bob Anderson (resonance.mfchoir.com), and Raising Voices - an intergenerational choir of music lovers to provide the therapeutic value of music to people with Alzheimer’s and dementia and their caregivers. JENNY JOHNSTON 416-986-5537 choiradmin@mfchoir.com www.mfchoir.com ●●The Nathaniel Dett Chorale The Nathaniel Dett Chorale is a 21-voice SATB professional choir based in Toronto, dedicated to performing Afrocentric music of all genres, including classical, spiritual, gospel, jazz, folk and blues. Founded by artistic director D. Brainerd Blyden-Taylor in 1998, the NDC is Canada’s premier performer of Afrocentric composers and a touchstone for the education of audiences and communities regarding the full spectrum of Afrocentric choral music. The mission of the NDC is to build bridges of understanding, appreciation and acceptance between communities of people through the medium of music. The Chorale has a threeconcert season in Toronto, tours extensively each season and has released several CDs and DVDs. The Nathaniel Dett Chorale is artist-in-residence at the Harriet Tubman Institute for Research. D. BRAINERD BLYDEN-TAYLOR (416) 712-7740 info@nathanieldettchorale.org www.nathanieldettchorale.org ●●Novi Singers Toronto Led by accomplished musical director Matthew Jaskiewicz, Novi Singers Toronto perform an ambitious multilingual repertoire including classical sacred and secular, jazz, cabaret, and opera. We enjoy an ongoing collaboration with Toronto Sinfonietta, distinguished soloists and guest musical ensembles. Our 2019/20 season began with a successful gala concert, “Freedom Reborn: 30th Anniversary of the Fall of Communism”, and the eagerly anticipated sold-out “Christ is Born” annual Christmas concert. In March, we regretfully postponed the rest of the season, while continuing to meet virtually for fellowship and song. NST welcomes new members with a commitment to excellence, and offers opportunities to enhance musical skills at Wednesday evening practices (8pm, 71 Judson Street, Etobicoke) and occasional theWholeNote 2020/21 CANARY PAGES DIRECTORY C7
