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Exultate Chamber Singers has been celebrated for its continuing tradition of choral excellence for almost 40 years. The choir is enriched not only by the excellent musicianship of its members but also by their varied academic and professional backgrounds. Together they form a passionate, committed ensemble with a wide-ranging repertoire. Founded and led for 30 years by conductor and organist John Tuttle, the choir has since been under the direction of Dr. Karen Grylls (2011 to 2012), Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt (2013 to 2018), and its newest artistic director, Dr. Mark Ramsay. Exultate is a three-time winner of the Canada Council Healey Willan Grand Prize and recently won first place in the adult mixed-voice chamber choir category of the 2019 Choral Canada National Competition for Canadian Amateur Choirs. The choir has appeared in performance with Alice Parker, Morten Lauridsen, and Ola Gjeilo, and has released five full-length albums to date.

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For over 59 years the award-winning Etobicoke Philharmonic Orchestra has been presenting great classical concerts and is delighted to announce the 2019/20 season starting October. Music director Matthew Jones once more engages audiences with his energy and enthusiasm and presents a great-composer lineup of works by Elgar, Brahms, Liszt, Grieg, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich and more. The new Sunday matinee Discovery Series was a great success last year and will be an ongoing seasonal feature. Once again, the orchestra welcomes great artists: Joseph Johnson, principal cellist with the TSO performing Tchaikovsky’s “Rococo Variations” at the opening concert, and renowned pianist Arthur Ozolins presenting Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2 at the final concert of the season.

Concerts are at Martingrove Collegiate Institute, 50 Winterton Dr., Etobicoke with the Christmas concert “The Gift of Christmas” and the Discovery Series matinee concert at Humber Valley Church, 76 Anglesey Blvd.  Advanced orchestral musicians of all ages interested in joining the orchestra should contact Judy Gargaro, EPO president. Student scholarships are by audition in the Spring. Rehearsals are every Wednesday at Martingrove Collegiate 7:30pm to 10pm. and continue until mid-May.

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Usually a love affair is something you want to keep secret – but not this time. The Etobicoke Community Concert Band is celebrating a 25-year love affair with music.

Their repertoire ranges from current hits and old favourites, to swing and jazz, and from military brass to Broadway hits – usually something that will be stuck in your head on your way home after a concert. The band is grateful for so much support over the years from so many volunteers, from so many people from the community, including other community groups that helped to make the first 25 years possible. They hope you’ll join them celebrating the 25th and for, hopefully, many years to come.

“Radio Days” will be Friday Nov 1. The Christmas Show “It’s a Wonderful Life in Etobicoke” will be Friday December 20. The 25th Gala Anniversary Concert is Friday, March 27. The final season concert “Party for the Planet” is Friday, May 29. The shows are at Etobicoke Collegiate, 86 Montgomery Rd.. Tickets: $15.00

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In its 53rd season, Etobicoke Centennial Choir (ECC) enriches the cultural life of the community with high-calibre vocal music performances. ECC offers singers a rewarding choral music experience in a welcoming, inclusive community. We perform diverse repertoire, ranging from classical masterpieces to contemporary compositions, folk and popular music. 

Our season begins on December 7 with “Sweet Rejoicing”, featuring Antonio Vivaldi’s uplifting Gloria, Robert Pearsall’s lovely arrangement of the ancient carol In Dulci Jubilo and joyful seasonal music. “Offering” on April 4 presents a gift of gorgeous classical music, including Luigi Cherubini’s stunningly beautiful Requiem Mass in C Minor and an exquisite selection of art songs by Brahms, Vaughan Williams and others. “Musica Borealis” on June 6 features glowing music from northern lands, including Scandinavia, Estonia and Canada. The Canadian Croatian Choral Society will join ECC in performing a selection of authentic Croatian folk songs. 

Rehearsals are on Tuesday evenings from 7:30pm to 10pm at Humber Valley United Church in Etobicoke. Etobicoke Centennial Choir always welcomes new choristers. Interested singers are invited to attend a rehearsal.

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Founded in 1983 by music director and conductor Alex Pauk, Esprit’s commitment to commissioning and advancing contemporary music has set it apart as one of the few organizations of its kind on a global scale. Esprit consistently collaborates with outstanding composers, and performs with first-class soloists and ensembles from Canada and abroad. Each concert season, Esprit Orchestra commissions, promotes and performs the work of Canadian composers, and features Canadian premieres of music by leading international composers. With a dynamic annual subscription concert series, this skilled orchestra presents music that is otherwise unavailable in Canada, always performed to the highest standards in the acoustically acclaimed Koerner Hall at the TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning.

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Ensemble Vivant is unique in the piano chamber music world. Having pioneered a genre-diverse repertoire from classical to the syncopated rhythms of Ragtime, the Great American SongBook, Latin, and other jazz styles, EV’s unique instrumentation features world class artists who have been steeped in these genres for over three decades; passionate, virtuosic music-making, and warm and engaging rapport with audiences of all ages. “No matter the genre, there is magic in Ensemble Vivant’s music-making.” (Rick Wilkins, C.M.) 

EV has 14 recordings (www.openingday.com). Core quintet: Catherine Wilson, piano/artistic director; Corey Gemmell, violin; Norman Hathaway, viola; Sybil Shanahan, cello; Jim Vivian, bass. Regular collaborators: Kevin Turcotte, trumpet; Mike Murley, sax; Nick Fraser, drums and others. “…Beautiful, poised performances...capture the passion and verve…Wilson’s piano gives this music unerring drive and plenty of sparkle.” - Toronto Star.

Through Euterpe (www.musicisthekey.org), Ensemble Vivant is known for fostering a love of great music among our youth. Euterpe enhances your community outreach, engaging EV to perform for the students at local public schools, and more. Euterpe’s initiatives have been endorsed by the scientific community.

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The Elora Singers are a fully professional choir that has spent 40 years establishing a reputation for musical excellence that continues to set them apart. The choir is renowned for delivering inspiring live performances in their fall/winter season and during their summer festival, the Elora Festival. The Singers have been nominated for a JUNO and a Grammy award and have a dozen CDs recorded. Under artistic director, Mark Vuorinen, The Elora Singers have a busy performance schedule within Elora and on tours, but also offer vital community outreach and education programs. 

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Elmer Iseler Singers (EIS) is a 20-voice professional chamber choir based in Toronto and founded by the late Dr. Elmer Iseler in 1979. Directed by the acclaimed Lydia Adams, the Singers are known for tonal beauty and interpretive range, and valued for their contributions to masterclasses and workshops with schools and community choirs.

EIS present a five-concert series in Toronto each season, and are featured at concerts, workshops, and festivals throughout Canada, touring Ontario annually and Eastern and Western Canada bi-annually. Their unique “Get Music! Educational Outreach Initiative” mentors conductors, music educators and students. 

The Elmer Iseler Singers have 15 recorded CDs featuring Canadian music. EIS with Toronto Symphony Orchestra were 2019 Grammy-nominated and 2019 JUNO-awarded for the brilliant Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Chandos CD recording, with Peter Oundjian conducting. EIS are 2014 National Choral Award recipients and JUNO nominees for “Classical Album of the Year: Vocal or Choral Performance” for Dark Star Requiem with Tapestry Opera and Gryphon Trio in 2017, and for David Braid’s Corona Divinae Misericordiae with Patricia O’Callaghan in 2019.

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Our 45-voice choir meets Thursday evenings for two hours and Sunday mornings for worship, preparing music ranging from Renaissance to jazz and from chant to oratorio. Prior experience in choral singing is a requirement. Outreach and benefit concerts are regular fare with support from our wonderful and talented eight section leads. This year, we offer our 2019/20 concert series with: “ESG Remembers,” featuring our ESG Concert Choir and Chamber Orchestra paying tribute to the 100th anniversary of the Peace Treaty with oral masterworks to the fallen, including the Rutter Requiem and other works by Mark Sirett, Ruth Watson Henderson and Eleanor Daley; our annual ESG Christmas concert “Gloria!”, with ESG Concert Choir, Chamber Orchestra and organ; and special guests, the Elmer Iseler Singers and Elora Singers, with stunning choral classics from Canada and beyond.

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We are a newly formed, non-profit organization guided by internationally-acclaimed conductor Noel Edison to present choral music at its best. Our vision is to reach out to communities large and small with the world’s finest choral music. 

This inaugural season, The Edison Singers will present concerts in three communities: Toronto, Niagara-on-the-Lake, and Wellington County. We plan to make these three centres the hub of our annual choral calendar, and our aim is to become an integral part of the musical life of each community.

A resident in each town has agreed to oversee volunteer activities, such as postering, ushering, advertising, marketing, hospitality, patron services, and fundraising. And we hope to create more musical hubs over the next few years. We also plan to give back to each community. This season we will be helping Knox Church in Elora raise funds for repairs to its landmark steeple. At St. David’s Presbyterian Church, our rehearsal venue in Campbellville, Ontario, we will assist them in fundraising.

We welcome suggestions from all our friends and supporters regarding ways the choir can enhance the cultural environment in your community.