The other day, there was a detailed message on The WholeNote's voicemail. It was from a long-time Toronto resident who explained that she was wanting to join a choir for the first time in many years, wanting to reconnect with the sense of community she’d felt singing with others in her youth, especially now because she was confident being in a choir would help her recovery from a recent stroke.
Her message was very specific about certain things she wanted and didn’t want: it was important to her that the choir not be religious or competitive; gathering to sing was more important than preparing to perform for an audience; adjacency to her neighbourhood would be nice, but as a lifelong transit user, she was happy to go where the TTC would take her. And she said this:
“I would like to sing again, for fun – to be part of a group of people using their own voice to create music. Before I emigrated here, and especially as a youth, I was always in choirs. I would like to resuscitate that part of myself.”
Her words struck a deep chord with me because I, too, have been actively looking for a choir to join this year. I, too, had great experiences with music in my youth. My early musical training was on clarinet, then I enjoyed singing in a choir during college. I knew if I could find a choir that fit my busy schedule as a parent, I would make new friends and feel healthier.
I found my choir. The eclectic mix of music at City Choir, which is led by six choral directors, was what caught my attention first. And I was fortunate that their Tuesday night rehearsal slot worked for me. So far, it’s been a lot of fun. Since joining, I’ve even started bringing music home: director Gregory Oh’s selection for this season of The Highwomen’s Crowded Table has become a family favourite: my wife and kids sing along to it with me while we do the dishes.
The Canary Pages: Every spring for 23 of the past 25 years, The WholeNote has published The Canary Pages – a directory of choirs in our region, ranging from purely social to highly competitive. It’s always been a spring thing, because that’s the time of year when people who want to sing start looking for a choir to join, sometimes for the first time, or one that offers a greater (or lesser) challenge than the one they are in.
Each of you will have criteria as personal and specific as mine or as those of the reader who left that lovely voicemail for us. So here are a few questions to help you sift through what might be important (or not) for you.
Is there an audition? I didn’t need to audition for City Choir. The organization does ask accomplished singers to volunteer as section leads, but it’s not even necessary to read music to join. Another non-auditioned choir in Toronto is Harbourfront Chorus. Or, if you’re in Richmond Hill, there’s Chorus York. It’s also worth checking at churches in your neighbourhood for non-auditioned opportunities to sing.
If you want to audition, Jubilate Singers may be worth considering. Or Toronto Classical Singers. Both of these organizations strive for higher artistic standards while still offering a very supporting environment. There are also auditioned choirs like Pax Christi Chorale and Toronto Mendelssohn Choir where you can sing alongside some paid professional singers. Some churches, like Leaside United, use the model of a professional core as well.
What style of music do you want to sing? Like with food, sometimes you’re open to just singing whatever. Music is sustenance for the soul after all! As long as it’s healthy, does it matter the style? Many choirs aim to bring an eclectic mix of repertoire to satisfy the appetites of their choristers.
But other times you may have a particular sound in mind. For women wanting to sing with women, there’s Echo Women’s Choir. They sing a range of songs, including socially conscious music about women. The Vesnivka Choir is also a women’s ensemble. It focuses on Ukrainian music and has been bringing the wonderful sounds of that tradition to Toronto for 60 years.
For men wanting to sing with men, MenAloud Chorus seeks to offer camaraderie. They also seek input from choir members for repertoire. The Toronto Welsh Male Voice Choir is another men’s ensemble. Most of their music is sung in Welsh and they tour to perform.
The Canadian Celtic Choir also features the songs of Wales; along with Scotland, England, Ireland, and the Maritimes. It’s open to both men and women in its home base of London. Or there’s L’ensemble vocal Les voix du coeur if you want to spend time exploring the deep and varied tradition of French-language music.
Take a look at the early birds in our Canary Pages, on pages 50-51, and see if anything piques your interest. If you’re curious about a particular style or wondering what any given choir sounds like, it’s always a good idea to take in one of their concerts or see if you can attend an open rehearsal first.
Do you like the vibe? Many factors in addition to the musical style affect the vibe of a choir. Size is one. Toronto Chamber Choir, for example, has 30–40 singers. The Mississauga Chamber Singers are more intimate, with under 25 singers. When I walk into rehearsals for City Choir, there’s a buzz of friendly chatter: the membership includes well over 100 singers. The history of a choir is also going to affect its vibe. How long has it been around? What’s the structure of the organization supporting it? What kind of funding has it secured in the past?
Of course, logistics! The best choir to join is the one you CAN join—regardless of any of the above. The rehearsal time, location, and accessibility have to work for your life. Maybe you never thought you’d join a group focused on a style of music you’d never heard of; but if the choir you want to join, because of what you already know you like, is across town, and there’s a choir only 20 minutes away that meets on a night you are free singing unfamiliar songs, I say try the latter!
Any size choir is a commitment, so consider what size commitment you want make, beyond weekly rehearsals. How much will you have to do at home to prepare? How many concerts are there each season along with any travel to perform? Unless you’re a paid singer, most choirs will have dues, possibly on a sliding scale. Some choirs will also need you to purchase specific attire for performances. And remember, choirs change, and people do, too. Maybe a group that didn’t work for you before, will now!
In any case, if you’re still reading at this point, I’d definitely consider you “choir curious” and encourage you to take the next step. Maybe, like me, you’ll soon find yourself filling your home with the sounds of a new song. Maybe you’ll find your loved ones are even singing along, and the dishes get done!
Angus MacCaull is a Toronto-based journalist and poet. He is currently at work on a memoir about coming to terms with tinnitus as a promising young clarinettist.
