The Canadian Chamber Choir (Choeur de chambre du Canada)'s mission is to build community through choral singing. The CCC is a national ensemble that provides a professional choral environment for Canadian singers, conductors and composers, and travels across Canada promoting Canadian choral music. Under the artistic direction of Julia Davids, the CCC convenes in different regions of Canada twice a year, offering concerts and mentoring choral practitioners of all ages and stages.
The CCC puts on two or three projects each year. Each project brings together 17 singers, an artistic director, and an accompanist from across Canada. Projects are usually seven to ten days in length and are put on in different regions in Canada. Singers will have received their music in the mail and learned it prior to arrival at the project. Upon arrival in the host city, they spend three to four days in rehearsal, hosted by a local school, choir, or community group. The CCC then travels to a few nearby towns on a tour, giving a combination of concerts and workshops throughout the province. Education is at the heart of the mandate of the CCC, and this model allows for an increasing number of communities and singers to have access to high caliber choral music.
Projects could not be carried out if not for the generous support of sponsors. The Canadian Chamber Choir is a registered charity.
The CCC was formed in July 1999 by a group of Canadian musicians. The purpose of the choir was to provide professional choral opportunities to young musicians that lived in areas of Canada that were unable to support professional choirs. Their mandate was to organize and perform short intensive 'projects' two or three times each year.
The original artistic director was Montreal conductor, Iwan Edwards. In 2004, Julia Davids took over artistic responsibilities. Under Davids' leadership, the choir focuses on developing the choral art through education and outreach initiatives, in addition to striving for artistic excellence.
In Canada, classical music includes a range of musical styles rooted in the traditions of Western or European classical music that European settlers brought to the country from the 17th century and onwards. As well, it includes musical styles brought by other ethnic communities from the 19th century and onwards, such as Indian classical music and Chinese classical music. Since Canada's emergence as a nation in 1867, the country has produced its own composers, musicians and ensembles. As well, it has developed a music infrastructure that includes training institutions, conservatories, performance halls, and a public radio broadcaster, CBC, which programs a moderate amount of Classical music. There is a high level of public interest in classical music and education.
The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir is a Canadian large vocal ensemble based in Toronto, Ontario. It was co-founded in 1894 by Augustus S. Vogt and W. H. Hewlett to celebrate the opening of the Massey Hall. The ensemble was originally an extension of the choir of Jarvis St. Baptist Church in Toronto which Vogt directed and Hewlett accompanied. It is named after the German composer, Felix Mendelssohn.
Andrew Paul MacDonald is a Canadian classical composer, guitarist, conductor, and music educator. His compositions have been performed in many countries and recorded by well-known musical ensembles.
Howard Primrose Whidden was a Canadian churchman, member of Parliament, educator, scholar, avid skier, and editor of Canadian Baptist.
Elmer Walter Iseler, was a Canadian choir conductor and choral editor. He was the conductor of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and founder of the Festival Singers of Canada and the Elmer Iseler Singers.
Howard Dyck, CM is a Canadian conductor and broadcaster. He was born in Winkler, Manitoba. Based in Waterloo, Ontario, he has had a long and distinguished career in classical music.
Julia Davids née Olson is a founding member and artistic director of the Canadian Chamber Choir. She is the music director of the North Shore Choral Society.
The Canadian Bandurist Capella is a vocal-instrumental ensemble that combines the sounds of male choral singing with the orchestral accompaniment of the multi-stringed Ukrainian bandura. Originally established as "Toronto Bandurist Capella" in 2001, the ensemble has been performing under the name "Canadian Bandurist Capella" since 2004. It is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The Winnipeg Singers are a 24 voice chamber choir from Canada led by director Yuri Klaz.
one of Canada's premier choirs, follows a rich tradition of choral music in Winnipeg.
The Bach-Elgar Choir is a community chorus of long standing in Hamilton, Ontario, currently directed by Alexander Cann. The Choir is composed of accomplished amateur singers from Hamilton and the neighbouring cities of Burlington, Oakville, Mississauga and Simcoe. Notable performances by the ensemble include the North American première of Verdi's Requiem and the Canadian premieres of Górecki's Miserere and Mahler's Symphony No. 2. The choir has performed at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, The Sanderson Centre in Brantford, and at the Brott Music Festival in Hamilton. The choir makes frequent guest appearances with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra.
Gerald Richard Fagan is considered one of Canada's premier choral conductors. He is the former Conductor and Artistic Director of Fanshawe Chorus London, The Gerald Fagan Singers, and the Concert Players Orchestra. He has been married to Marlene Fagan since 1961. They have five children; Leslie, Louise, Judy, Jennifer and Jonathon.
The Oakville Symphony is a Canadian orchestra performing in Oakville, Ontario.
Brian Jackson is a British-Canadian conductor, organist and pianist. He became a naturalized Canadian citizen in 1974. Until 2012 he was Principal Pops Conductor of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Orchestra London, and the Victoria Symphony.
Simon Nicolas Streatfeild was a British-Canadian violist, conductor and teacher.
The Elmer Iseler Singers is a professional chamber choir based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Musikay is a professional choir and orchestra based in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. Musikay was founded in 2005 under the name Oakville Chamber Choir by Artistic Director Stephane Potvin, a Quebec born conductor who also served as Resident Conductor and Artistic Administrator to the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra.
The Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto is one of several professional faculties at the University of Toronto. The Faculty of Music is located at the Edward Johnson Building, just south of the Royal Ontario Museum and north of Queen's Park, west of Museum Subway Station. MacMillan Theatre and Walter Hall are located in the Edward Johnson Building. The Faculty of Music South building contains rehearsal rooms and offices, and the Upper Jazz Studio performance space is located at 90 Wellesley Street West. In January 2021, the Faculty announced Dr. Ellie Hisama as the new Dean starting July 1, 2021.
The Oakville Children's Choir is an internationally recognized multi-level community children’s choir that provides children in the Oakville, Ontario community with music education, leadership development and performance opportunities. The organization has six choirs composed of children between the ages of 5 and 18, under the artistic direction of Sarah Morrison.
