Choral Concert with host Peter Togni, November 27, 2011 9:00 - 11:00 am, (9:30 - 11:30 NL) on CBC Radio 2

From Australia: “The Idea of North”

This Sunday Peter Togni brings you “The Idea of North”, a vocal quartet from Australia that combine extraordinary tuning and incredible ensemble into a bright, eclectic a cappella sound. They are kind of a cross between the jazz sensibility of the New York based vocal group Manhattan Transfer, and the creative music sensibilities of the Finish sextet Rajaton.

You’ll also hear some wonderful contributions from Montreal’s Ensemble Caprice, the UBC singers, and the Elora Festival Singers.

The Amadeus Choir Announces the Winners of the 2011 Seasonal Song-Writing Competition

The Amadeus Choir (www.amadeuschoir.com) and its Conductor and Artistic Director, Lydia Adams, are pleased to announce the winners of its 25th annual Seasonal Song-Writing Competition. Entries were received from composers both young and old throughout the GTA, across Canada and around the world, resulting in one of the most diverse collections of winning compositions to date.

The winners of the 2011 Amadeus Choir Seasonal Song-Writing Competition are (in alphabetical order by last name):

• Artley, Chris from Auckland, New Zealand for The Ashwell Carol (Adult Amateur)
• Arifin, Felix (19 years old) from Toronto, Ontario for Filius Deo Dormit (Youth - tie)
• Cooper, Susan (co-winner with Brian Holmes) from Massachusetts for The Shortest Day (Adult Professional/Group Solstice)
• Emery, Matthew (20 years old) from London, Ontario for In the Holy Nativity of Our Lord (Youth - tie)
• Fullalove, Robin from Parksville, British Columbia for In Excelsis Gloria (Adult Amateur SATB a cappella)
• Holmes, Brian (co-winner with Susan Cooper) from San Jose, California for The Shortest Day (Adult Professional/Group Solstice)
• Naus, Julia (11 years old) from Toronto, Ontario for The Angels' Song (Child 10-12 years unison 2-part - tie)
• Sloss, Imogen (10 years old) from Toronto, Ontario for The Star Shone Bright (Child 10-12 years unison 2-part - tie)
• Winn, Allison (12 years old) from Toronto, Ontario for Quittez Pasteurs (Child 10-12 years SSA)

The Toronto Children’s Chorus will partner with The Fairmont Royal York Hotel to present Sing Loo!, a four-hour long sing-a-thon concert

The Toronto Children’s Chorus, in partnership with The Fairmont Royal York hotel, presents Sing Loo!, a free, four-hour long concert, in the festively decorated grand lobby of the hotel, 100 Front St W, on Sunday, November 27, 2011, 12 – 4 p.m. Sing Loo! is a pledge-driven sing-a-thon that raises money for the Chorus and is open to the community. The name, Sing Loo!, originates from the Toronto Children’s Chorus tradition in which someone sings the word “loo!” on a sustained pitch and other voices quickly join in unison so that the attention of the crowd is instantly captured.

Choral Concert with host Peter Togni, November 20, 2011 9:00 - 11:00 am, (9:30 - 11:30 NL) on CBC Radio 2

The Vancouver Chamber Choir in “Nova: Rising Choral Stars”

This Sunday on Choral Concert Peter Togni brings you the Vancouver Chamber Choir in concert. From Ryerson United Church you will hear this national treasure sounding their very best. This concert focuses on rising choral composing stars, like Fredik Sixten, Timothy Corlis and Ivo Antognini.

You will also hear selections from some of the Vancouver Chamber Choir’s finest CD releases, as well as Schubert’s famous Mass No. 3 in B flat performed by none other than the Immortal Bach ensemble and the Leipziger Kammerorchester.

A Winter Choral Symposium January 21, 2012 ~ Guelph, Ontario

A full day choral workshop for conductors, church musicians and choristers featuring Dr. Julia Davids with the Canadian Chamber Choir, presented by Laurier Centre for Music in the Community, Lyrical Lines Education Network, Music Plus Corporation. Registration Deadline: January 15, 2012.

View complete details and registration brochure here.

Choral Concert with host Peter Togni, November 13, 2011 9:00 - 11:00 am, (9:30 - 11:30 NL) on CBC Radio 2

The Tallis Scholars in Concert

They’ve been called the “rock stars of renaissance vocal music”, and “superstars” of the choral world – The Tallis Scholars have been together since 1973 and under the direction of their founder Peter Philips have reached the pinnacle of international choral performance. Their incredible blend, tuning and clarity brings out a beauty of sound that sets the standard for the rest of the world.

Peter Togni brings us the Tallis Scholars in concert from the Church of Our Saviour in Copenhagen, a concert recorded last fall.

You will also hear a Choral Concert run down of the Winnipeg Singers, the Tafelmusik Chamber Choir, Concerto Della Donna and Musica Intima, all doing music to Latin texts.

Ruth Watson Henderson Choral Composition Competition, 2011 Winner Announced

The Ruth Watson Henderson Choral Composition Competition is a contest for new choral works. This biennial competition alternates between pieces for treble voice choirs and for mixed choirs. The 2011 competition asked for an SA or SSA work for children’s choir, which could be either a cappella or accompanied by piano. The eligible composers must be Canadian citizens or landed immigrants, residing in Canada; their submissions must be original; they must not have been previously commissioned or published, and must have been composed within the last two years.

The winner of the 2011 competition is Elise Letourneau with Ave Maria, for SA and piano.

VCC 32nd Annual National Conductors' Symposium February 6—11, 2012

Jon Washburn and the Vancouver Chamber Choir will present the 32nd annual National Conductors' Symposium February 6—11, 2012 in Vancouver, Canada. The symposium offers selected conductors an opportunity to take part in masterclasses with Canada's premier choral ensemble.

Application Deadline: November 21, 2011

Details and application form available here.

IV European Music Competition, City of Filadelfia, May 5—13, 2012

We wait to celebrate together a moment of music and friendship!

The competition is open to young musicians of any nationality with classes in Opera, Singing, Pianoforte, Strings, Woodwind, Guitar, Accordion, Percussion, Chamber Music. Lower Secondary school instrument classes, Choirs, Jazz Combo, Brass Band, Bands/Windbands.
Visit: WWW.ASSOCIAZIONE-MELODY.COM

Choral Concert with host Peter Togni, November 6, 2011 9:00 - 11:00 am, (9:30 - 11:30 NL) on CBC Radio 2

Studio de Musique Ancienne de Montreal (SMAM) at the Darling Foundry

The Darling Foundry is a renovated, industrial artspace that has become the center of the contemporary art scene in Montreal. This Sunday on Choral Concert Peter Togni brings SMAM, Studio de Musique Ancienne de Montreal into the heart of the resonant acoustics of the foundry to bring you music of Roland De Lassus, Marc-Antoine Charpentier, and Thomas Luis de Vicotria. It’s lush, rich, and resonant – a full surround sound experience and a marvelous juxtaposition of the old and the new.
You will also hear the latest CD release on ECM records of the Hilliard ensemble, a beautiful review of the Russian-Isreali composer Boris Yoffe, featuring the Hilliard ensemble and the Rosamunde string quartet.

Arts Day Unites Parliamentarians in Support of the Arts

Artists and arts workers from coast to coast to coast gathered in Ottawa on Tuesday October 25th to discuss the key role arts investment plays in the economic and social health of Canada. With one hundred participants and 120 scheduled meetings, it was the best attended Arts Day yet.

Recognizing the Government’s goal to reduce Canada’s deficit by 2014, members of the Canadian Arts Coalition presented a more modest set of priorities than in previous years. Parliamentarians were asked to maintain investment in the Canada Council for the Arts, integrate arts and culture in the government’s foreign policy initiatives, and to maintain funding levels to key arts, culture and heritage programs delivered by the Department of Canadian Heritage.

La Journée des Arts rassemble les parlementaires qui appuient le milieu artistique

Des artistes et des travailleurs du monde des arts venus de partout au Canada se sont réunis à Ottawa le mardi 25 octobre pour débattre du rôle essentiel que les investissements dans les arts jouent quant à la santé économique et sociale du pays. Avec une centaine de participants et 120 rencontres planifiées, il s’agit de la plus forte participation à une Journée des Arts à ce jour.

Conscients de l’objectif gouvernemental consistant à réduire le déficit du Canada d’ici 2014, les membres de la Coalition canadienne des arts ont mis de l’avant un ensemble de priorités plus modeste que les années précédentes. Il fut demandé aux parlementaires d’insister pour que l’investissement au Conseil des Arts soit maintenu, que les initiatives de politique étrangère intègrent les arts et la culture, et que soit maintenu le niveau de financement fourni par le ministère du Patrimoine canadien aux secteurs clés des arts, de la culture et du patrimoine.