2024-25 Presenter Profiles (Blue Pages)

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St. Thomas’s music program not only elevates our worship, but also creates community and connection - attracting skilled choristers, nurturing the next generation of musicians, presenting guest artists in concert, and welcoming all who come to hear them. Led by Organist and Choirmaster Elizabeth Anderson and Assistant Organist and Choirmaster Manuel Piazza, excellent choral and organ music are offered on Sunday at the 11am High Mass and 5pm Evensong (featuring the British cathedral heritage as well as contemporary composers).

We welcome experienced choristers who value a high standard of ensemble singing to audition: contact us at eanderson@stthomas.on.ca. Through Friends of Music at St. Thomas's (honorary co-chairs, Larry Beckwith and Molly Johnson), we host renowned guest artists in an exciting concert series. The program supports the St. Thomas's Choristers, a free music program for children (grades 2 to 12). The Choristers learn ensemble singing, vocal technique, and music theory in a fun atmosphere. No church membership/religious affiliation is required. Rehearsals are Thursdays at 4:30pm to 6:30pm, and the children sing at the 9:30am service on Sundays. The program runs from late August to late May. Info and auditions at www.stthomas.on.ca/choristers.

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Every now and then a group of musicians comes along and changes the way we think about music. For over four decades, Tafelmusik has been synonymous worldwide with dynamic, engaging, and soulful performances informed by scholarship, passion, and artistic excellence.

Performed on instruments and in styles appropriate to the era, 17th- to 19th-century instrumental and choral music share the stage with exciting multimedia programs, bold new commissions, and intriguing cross-cultural collaborations. From a vibrant home season in Toronto, to international tours, award-winning recordings, and inspiring education programs, Tafelmusik is a musical powerhouse with a reputation for thrilling and delighting audiences.

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The Tallis Choir of Toronto is a chamber ensemble of 36 voices which has earned a reputation for innovative programming and polished performances. Works from Gregorian Chant to contemporary choral music are represented, but the choir is best known as one of the few ensembles in Canada specializing in the music of the Renaissance, particularly 16th-century Italy and England.

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Tapestry Opera is TO.

We make new opera in Toronto. Tapestry was founded in 1979, and we’re the only Canadian company solely dedicated to creating and performing original Canadian opera.

We have a mandate to create powerful opera that reflects and changes the world around us, bringing together art forms, creators, and communities to create boundary-pushing work.

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TO Live is one of Canada’s largest multi-arts organizations, operating three iconic venues: Meridian Hall, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, and Meridian Arts Centre. In addition, TO Live presents a full range of performing arts, theatrical, and concert events at these venues in both downtown and uptown Toronto.

TO Live believes that the arts are crucial to creating healthy, vibrant, and engaged diverse communities. Our vision is to build a better city through the arts. We are a creative hub for audiences, artists, and all those who work with us.

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An auditioned concert choir, Toronto Beach Chorale attracts singers who are highly motivated with excellent musical skills. We offer three choral concerts each season, performed with professional soloists and instrumental ensembles.

In addition to our concert season, which this year includes music by Handel, Bach and Haydn, we actively participate in community events, collaborating with other groups and artists to enhance the quality of life in our neighbourhood and the City. Toronto Beach Chorale is a vital musical presence in the Beach, and has achieved a reputation for artistic excellence.

We are supported by professional orchestras and ensembles, and we engage professional and emerging soloists in principal solo roles.

Our Artistic Director, Mervin W Fick, has been transforming choirs, inspiring individuals and raising performance levels of choirs for over 35 years. He is the founding director of the Toronto Beach Chorale, Artistic Director of the MCS Chorus of Mississauga, and conductor of the PCS Singers of Brampton and the National Award winning Esprit Chamber Choir. One of the greatest gifts that Mervin brings to performances through the singers under his direction is his ability to inspire truly joyful singing.

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The Toronto Chamber Choir has held a prominent place in Canada’s early music scene since 1968. Since 2014, the TCC’s Artistic Director is lutenist Lucas Harris. Past directors have included David Fallis and Mark Vuorinen.

The TCC’s 30-40 auditioned singers specialise in performing Renaissance and Baroque repertoire in collaboration with period instrumentalists, though the choir’s themed concerts often include music from other time periods and diverse cultures. Our performances often explore the cultural context of our repertoire using narration and a multimedia component. Since 2014, we’ve run the Toronto Chamber Consort section lead program for professional singers with a special interest in early music, and since 2003, we’ve run an apprenticeship program with Rosedale Heights School for the Arts.

Rehearsals are Wednesday evenings at Church of the Transfiguration (Mt. Pleasant/Davisville), with appropriate COVID protocols adjusted by our Health & Safety Committee. The TCC is committed to inclusion and diversity of perspectives within the choir. We welcome audition requests from singers with excellent choral skills at any time through arrangement with the Artistic Director.

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The Toronto Children's Chorus (TCC) is a vibrant musical community that has been nurturing young voices for generations. Founded in 1978 by Jean Ashworth Bartle C.M., O.Ont. and subsequently led by Artistic Directors Elise Bradley, MNZM (2007-2021) and Dr. Zimfira Poloz (2022-present), the TCC has been a cornerstone of choral excellence in Toronto and Canada for 47 years.

Throughout its history, the Chorus has graced world-renowned stages, including Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Sydney Opera House, and Royal Albert Hall. As choral ambassadors, the TCC has represented Canada on 33 international tours and seven national tours. The TCC has also earned accolades at several prestigious competitions, including the International Eisteddfod in Wales, the Let the Peoples Sing competition in Europe, the CBC National Radio Competition, and the International Choral Kathaumixw. The Chorus regularly collaborates with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, a partnership that celebrates the enduring connection and shared musical heritage between these two key institutions in the city's arts scene. Now, as the TCC celebrates its 47th concert season, it continues to build on a legacy of musical achievement and international recognition.

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The Toronto Choral Society has been an integral part of Toronto’s musical history for 180 years! In order to go forward with the highest level of integrity, authenticity and good humour we need to expand our membership. Our new season begins in September, when we will be preparing for our traditional Christmas concert at Koerner Hall, on December 1. This concert will feature Vivaldi’s Gloria, Gloria from Bach’s Mass in B Minor, Gloria from Mozart’s Spatzenmesse, and other works. We aspire to creatively reflect Toronto’s diverse culture through our music. If you like to sing and enjoy a weekly evening of socializing, you could be performing with us in the coming season and be a part of a unique musical experience, “singing is the one thing in my life that never fails to take me to where disenchantment is almost nonexistent and feeling good is pretty much guaranteed.” For info please visit our website.

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Toronto Classical Singers is the only choir in the country dedicated exclusively to the great choral/orchestral repertoire. Known for its unique musical point-of-view and its diverse and high-quality programming, the choir features lesser-known and rarely performed pieces as well as the beloved vocal/orchestral repertoire. Led by founding conductor and artistic director Jurgen Petrenko, the group performs with orchestra and soloists in their presentations of the great choral masterpieces. With its exuberant approach, TCS celebrates the choral tradition with the complex sonority of large choir with professional orchestra.

This season we are presenting two concerts featuring music both new and familiar. On December 8 at 4pm, our concert of seasonal music with soloists and orchestra features the universal masterpiece Handel’s Messiah. Our spring concert, on April 6 at 4pm, will feature Beethoven’s rarely performed C Major Mass and Mozart’s beloved Requiem.

Join us this winter and spring for inspiration and joy through thrilling choral music.

Our concerts are presented at Christ Church Deer Park, 1570 Yonge Street, Toronto.

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For 40 years, Toronto Operetta Theatre has been Canada’s only performing arts company dedicated to music theatre in all its variety.

TOT will return to the St. Lawrence Centre stage for the 40th Anniversary season with wonderful music, comedy, and romance—the best of Operetta and Music Theatre! The season opener is Sigmund Romberg’s Student Prince on November 1, 2, and 3, 2024. TOT celebrates the holiday season with Imre Kalman’s Countess Maritza, opening on December 29, 2024, with further performances on January 3 and 4, 2025, conducted by Derek Bate. Back by popular demand, the season finale is Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Gondoliers, with performances on February 28 and March 1 and 2, 2025. All main performances are held at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts.

Our patrons’ favourite, TOT’s Cabaret series at the intimate Edward Jackman Centre, will be held on Saturday, October 12, 2024, November 23, 2024, and January 25, 2025, starting at 4pm.

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The TSO was founded in 1922 by a group of Toronto musicians and gave its first performance at the historic Massey Hall. Since 1982, Toronto’s iconic Roy Thomson Hall has been the TSO’s home, drawing patrons from around the world. The Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s name remains synonymous with musical versatility and growth, and artistic distinction.

One of Canada’s most respected arts organizations, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) plays a vital role in the city’s dynamic cultural life.

Committed to serving local and national communities through vibrant performances and expansive educational activities, the TSO offers a wide range of programming that resonates with people of all ages and backgrounds. With a notable recording and broadcast history complementing international touring engagements, the TSO is a unique musical ambassador for Canada around the world.

Gustavo Gimeno begins his role as the TSO’s Music Director in the 2020/21 season, the Orchestra’s 99th. With this appointment, Maestro Gimeno becomes the Orchestra’s 10th Music Director. The TSO is now entering Year 102 with it's highly anticipated 2024/25 Season.

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Trinity Bach Project is a professional vocal and instrumental ensemble, dedicated to serving ordinary audiences the extraordinary musical and spiritual riches of J. S. Bach’s choral repertoire. By presenting the works of Bach and others with clarity, excellence, and generosity, we seek to remove barriers around classical choral music and open the doors of sacred places—both historic architecture and human hearts.

The 30-plus concerts of our first two seasons included such programs as “Bach and Mendelssohn,” “Bach and Rheinberger,” “Bach and Schütz,” “Bach and Tallis,” and “Bach and Handel,” shared with diverse audiences in fourteen different settings around Toronto and the surrounding region. Our third season (2024/25) is set to debut shortly with the program “Bach and Roses” (featuring cantatas BWV 72 and 182), in performance Oct 3, Oct 4, Nov 13, and Nov 17. January and beyond will see a trio of instrumental concertos, the poignant Actus Tragicus (BWV 106), the wedding cantata Der Herr denket an uns (BWV 196), and the jubilance of Sei Lob und Ehr dem höchsten Gut (BWV 117).

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The Upper Canada Choristers is an SATB community choir in Toronto with a history of collaboration with both local and international choirs and professional guest artists. UCC is committed to excellence and diversity. Cantemos is UCC’s auditioned Latin American ensemble. Founding Artistic Director, Laurie Evan Fraser, and Accompanist, Hye Won Cecilia Lee, provide the professional musical leadership for this vibrant organisation.

The 2024/25 concert season opens with “A Holiday Travelogue” on Friday, December 13 at 7:30pm at Grace Church on-the-Hill, 300 Lonsdale Road. The concert includes music from Ireland, Sweden, Spain, Scotland, Venezuela, France, and England. A featured work will be Fantasia on Christmas Carols by Ralph Vaughan Williams with baritone soloist, Bradley Christensen.

On May 16, 2025, the Choristers will be joined by Caribbean choir La Petite Musicale, under the direction of Lindy Burgess. Our special guests will be Venezuelan composer, Cesar Alejandro Carillo and his wife, poet Laura Morales, visiting Canada for the first time. "Venezuela Viva" will provide a snapshot of the diversity of Venezuelan music. Repertoire will showcase a slice of choral culture with Afrocentric, Spanish, and Caribbean influences.

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Award-winning Vesnivka Choir was established in 1965 by founding artistic director Halyna Kvitka Kondracki. The choir has delighted audiences with its rich repertoire of Ukrainian classical, contemporary, sacred and traditional folk music. Vesnivka, together with its partner the Toronto Ukrainian Male Chamber Choir (also founded by Ms. Kondracki), are often joined in concert by area musicians and soloists. We are excited to announce that Nazar Lozynskyy will be assuming a broader role as co-conductor of the choirs in the upcoming 2024/25 season. Our concert season will consist of three major concerts, the first being “Prayer for Ukraine”, a concert of sacred music by classical and contemporary Ukrainian composers, to be held on November 3, 2024. Joining the choirs will be guest ensemble St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church Choir from Toronto. On January 12, 2025, we will celebrate the new year with our annual Christmas concert, featuring traditional and contemporary Ukrainian Christmas carols and New Year’s songs. Our final concert of the season will be held on May 4, 2025. “Songs of Love” will feature a program of Ukrainian music depicting themes of romance, unrequited love as well as familial love.

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VIVA Singers Toronto is a family of seven choirs with a mandate to give members, ages four through adult, the opportunity to achieve artistic excellence in a singer-centered, collaborative choral community.

VIVA offers diverse musical programming, including regular performance and international touring opportunities, musical literacy, chorister composition and Orff-based creation activities, an annual fall Performing Arts Camp and commissioned works and partnerships with distinguished musicians and composers.

VIVA’s dedicated efforts to put choristers first inform our rehearsal structures and music-making processes. We embrace the coexistence of a high level of artistic and educational engagement while fostering a truly inclusive environment.

We continue to advocate for all voices, and push for inclusivity to ensure that anyone who enjoys music is welcomed - and challenged - at VIVA. VIVA is proud to celebrate its 25th anniversary in the 2024/25 season!

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The VOCA Chorus of Toronto, a dynamic, auditioned ensemble under the leadership of artistic director Jenny Crober, performs a broad range of repertoire in collaboration with a variety of superb guest artists. VOCA's season consists of concerts, cabarets, community performances and workshops. Our wonderful collaborative pianist is Dakota Scott-Digout. Numerous remarkable artists have joined VOCA as clinicians, including composer Ola Gjeilo, conductor Ivars Taurins and jazz vocalist Dylan Bell.

VOCA's 2024/25 season, our artistic director's 20th Anniversary, will be an exciting one. On October 27, our professional leads will be featured in a cabaret / fundraiser. On December 14, our 'Season Songs' concert will include Sarah Quartel's Iesous ahatonnia, Jenny Crober's arrangement of Joni Mitchell's River, a world premiere by Nicholas Ryan Kelly, an Ontario premiere by Matthew Emery and more, with guest artists Michael Occhipinti, jazz guitar and Jamie Drake, percussion. On May 10, we'll be performing Carl Orff's monumental Carmina Burana, featuring several brilliant instrumentalists and soloists, including our special guest, tenor Andrew Haji. VOCA rehearses Monday evenings at Eastminster United (Danforth/Chester subway).

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VOICEBOX: Opera in Concert is Canada’s only company dedicated exclusively to the presentation of rare opera programming for 50 years. Our performances rely on the power and beauty of the human voice, the dramatic inflection of text and poetry, accompanied by orchestra or piano.

This season features three contrasting operas that reflect diversity through the ages in our new venue! The first opera to be presented at the Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity St. Paul Centre, is Gluck’s Alceste on Sunday, January 12, 2024, followed by Puccini’s La Rondine on Thursday, March 20, and Friday, March 21, 2025. The season concludes with Meyerbeer’s Robert Le Diable.

The OIC Chorus will also be featured in each opera, led by Robert Cooper with our Music Directors.

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In 2024, Westben celebrates 25 years of bringing people together through music in nature. Year-round programs include the international summer festival from June to August in three outdoor venues, concerts at the Schoolhouse, music in nature small group experiences, community programs, workshops, kids camps and more.

Westben’s International Performer-Composer Residency (PCR) is an annual collaborative gathering where diverse listeners and performer-composers build relationships and connect through creating music and exchanging perspectives.

Westben is located in Northumberland County, 40 minutes from Cobourg, Peterborough and Belleville, 2 hours east of Toronto, and 2.5 hours west of Ottawa. Westben is nestled amongst the gently rolling hills of the Gunshot Treaty lands and subsequent Williams Treaties of 1923, and the traditional territory of the Michi Saagiig (Mississauga) Anishinaabeg, near what is now known as Campbellford, Ontario.

Westben’s summer festival has presented over 5000 international and local Canadian artists including Gerald Finley, Angela Hewitt, Oliver Jones, Peter Appleyard, Michael Kaeshammer, Broken Social Scene, William Prince, Jeremy Dutcher, Holly Cole, Colin Mochrie, Deb McGrath, and Natalie McMaster.

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The Wychwood Clarinet Choir brings together the family of clarinets from the E flat sopranino down to the contrabass. Our range of instruments is matched by the variety of our repertoire. We perform new compositions and arrangements, many written or transcribed by our Composers’ Collective. The choir, now in its 16th season, is directed by clarinetist and conductor Michele Jacot. Choir members are admitted by audition and pay an annual membership fee. Members are dedicated clarinetists eager to share their love of music-making in a collegial and musically challenging environment. We strive to create opportunities for serious amateur musicians to develop their musical skills and to share our music more broadly in educational settings and in the wider community. The group rehearses and performs on a regular basis in Toronto’s St. Clair and Wychwood area. Check out our YouTube videos and look for updates on our website. New members welcome - please contact us for audition information.

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Yorkminster Park is synonymous with magnificent music. Whether it’s the choir accompanied by the majestic Casavant organ, our Memorial Carillon, or the congregation lifting their voices in hymns of praise, vocal and instrumental expressions of faith are integral to the Yorkminster Park experience.

Our choir, under organist and music director William Maddox and his assistant, Sharon Beckstead, enjoys a reputation as one of the best church choirs in Toronto. We present free organ recitals at 12:30pm, every Wednesday from September through June, and have recently started a series of carillon recitals in the summer months.

We have a wide variety of unique musical events throughout the year, but Yorkminster Park is renowned for its special seasonal concerts. The quality of the music ministry at YPBC is never more evident than during Advent and Holy Week. These services have become community traditions: City Carol Sing, Carols by Candlelight, Iona liturgical music, the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, Passiontide Devotion during Holy Week and Evensong services three times a year.

Our sanctuary is frequently made available to other choral and concert groups, which draw appreciative audiences from all over Southern Ontario.