Choral Concert with host Peter Togni, January 1, 2012 9:00 - 11:00 am, (9:30 - 11:30 NL) on CBC Radio 2

New Releases for a new year

To bring in the new year this Sunday Peter Togni brings you a wonderful collection of new releases from the past 6 months. Everything from the Elmer Iseler Singers with Eleanor MacCain to three incredible CDs that Peter picked up on his recent trip to Latvia – one of the world centers of great choral music.

You will also hear a new release from Analekta records, a feature performance from the inaugural concert in Montreal’s brand new concert hall, the Maison Symphonique de Montreal. You will hear a truly appropriate piece for new year’s day – the great Ode to Joy from Beethoven’s ninth symphony.

And to add some sugar and spice to the line up, you’ll also hear some cuts from the brand new CD from those incredible British boy sopranos: “Libera”.

Masters in Choral Conducting / la maîtrise en direction chorale à l’Université de Sherbrooke

Auditions will be held on April 15th for admission to the Fall semester of 2012. The application deadline is March 15th, 2012 http://www.usherbrooke.ca/admission/.


Les auditions pour l’admission à l’automne 2012 auront lieu le 15 avril 2012 au Campus de Longueuil. La date limite pour poser une demande d’admission est le 15 mars 2012 http://www.usherbrooke.ca/admission/.

World Choir Games 2012 * Cincinnati * July 4 - 14, 2012

INTERKULTUR, founder of the World Choir Games, is based in Pohlheim, Germany and organizes choral competitions and festivals all over the world. Since 1988 over 115 competitions and festivals have been held. The famous World Choir Games, formerly known as "Choir Olympics", are held every two years on different continents. For the first time in the history of the World Choir Games, the competition will be held in a U.S. city (July 4 - 14, 2012), with Procter & Gamble as the Official Presenting Sponsor. Cincinnati can look back on a rich musical heritage and was America’s first city to organize a choral festival! To find out more about the adjudicators and details on the registration deadline, please visit the website: www.interkultur.com

TMC Announces Participating Conductors for the 2012 Choral Conductors’ Symposium

The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir has announced the five conductors who will be participating in the TMC’s 2012 Choral Conductors’ Symposium, January 24-28 in Toronto. The TMC’s Choral Conductors Symposium (begun in 2011) is designed to propel emerging conductors to new levels of artistic growth. The Symposium recognizes that, at the head of every successful choral organization, is a skilled conductor who possesses not just a clear vision of the repertoire being performed, but the musical ability and communicative power necessary to bring a group of singers together as a single unit.

The Symposium is led by conductor Noel Edison, and participating conductors have the opportunity to conduct the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and the Elora Festival Singers.

Conductors wishing to participate submitted an extensive application package, including video footage from concerts or rehearsals. Conductor Noel Edison and TMC Executive Director Cynthia Hawkins recently selected an international roster of five conductors who will participate in the 2012 Symposium.  This year’s conductors are: Ana Alvarez, Elaine Choi, Dominic Gregorio, Jared Oaks and Charles Tyler Turner.

Choirs Wanted for UNISONG Choral Festival

Quebec, Newfoundland & Labrador, Manitoba and PEI Choirs Wanted! These provinces are not currently represented at Unisong 2012 in Ottawa. Please contact Carla Ala-Kantti for more information at 1-800-267-8526 or e-mail calakantti@mkitravel.com

Concerto Della Donna Launches New Album

Concerto Della Donna, under the music direction of Iwan Edwards, proudly announces the launch of their new album, parlez-moi, a collection of works for women voices, both accompanied and a capella, by Canadian composer Allan Bevan.

Concerto Della Donna performs a wide spectrum of traditional, classical, and contemporary repertoire drawn from both secular and liturgical sources, including madrigals, motets, Romantic lieder, spirituals, and avant-garde works. There is a strong emphasis on Canadian compositions and works by female composers. The ensemble's goal is to produce vibrant performances of both serious and light-hearted repertoire, while demonstrating the strength and beauty of young women’s voices through technical precision and emotional depth.

Hard copies and an MP3 version of the album are available through the CDD website at concertodelladonna.ca.

World Youth Choir Canadian Auditions

Calling all young Canadian singers! We'll soon be announcing details for national Canadian auditions for the World Youth Choir! Read about the WYC, and what you'll need to prepare for your audition, here. Stay tuned here, on Twitter, and on the Choral Canada website for Canadian audition details.

Podium 2012 Choral Celebration Chorale Ottawa May 17—20, 2012

The Podium 2012 website is now online and registration is open. View the exciting lineup of sessions, clinicians and performing choirs:  http://www.podium2012.ca/

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

Peter Togni’s best picks for Christmas

This Sunday Peter Togni brings you a collection of his favourite CD releases for Christmas, some brand new, and some classics. Any of them will be excellent additions to your Christmas collection, or to put under the tree for someone special in your life.

You’ll hear from Chor Leoni (the singing lions!) from Vancouver, the Robert Shaw Chamber Singers, the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists doing Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, and those boys from London, England “Libera” doing their irresistible takes on Christmas melodies.

And for an added bonus you’ll hear two cuts from a concert presented this past year at Koerner Hall in Toronto, called the “Mystical Worlds of Pärt and Schaffer”. It was a wonderful event with many amateur choirs from across Ontario taking part, all conducted by the great choral master Tonu Kaljuste.

Choral Concert will be moving aside for the next two Sundays, with our annual EBU Sunday of incredible music from Europe taking place on December 18th, and also for a full day of special Christmas programming on Sunday, December 25th.

Choral Concert will be back for New Year's day on Sunday, January 1st.

The Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute JUNE 3 – 16, 2012 Faculty of Music University of Toronto

The Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute is an intensive 14-day residency in baroque period performance for instrumentalists, singers and conductors/directors taught by members of the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir and distinguished guest faculty. The Institute is open to advanced students, pre-professional and professional musicians.

For full information and applications visit tafelmusik.org/tbsi

Application Deadline MARCH 21, 2012

Contact: Emily Wall, TBSI Administrative Coordinator at 416-964-9562 ext. 241
Email: tbsi@tafelmusik.org

See also our website for details of the one-year Advanced Certificate in Performance programme
at the University of Toronto Faculty of Music. ACP application deadline: January 23, 2012

Choral Concert with host Peter Togni, December 4, 2011 9:00 - 11:00 am, (9:30 - 11:30 NL) on CBC Radio 2

Highlights from the “Let the People Sing” competition

This Sunday Peter Togni brings you some wonderful highlights from one of the world’s biggest amateur choral completions; “Let the People Sing”. It started back 1961 as a BBC competition for British choirs, but in the last 50 years it has expanded to cover all of Europe, including some stunning eastern European entries. You will hear performances from Estonia, Finland, Sweden and Bulgaria – with a stunning entry of traditional Bulgarian women’s voices.

You’ll also hear some advanced Christmas entries from the Monteverdi Choir, Elektra Women’s Chorus and Michael Praetorius’ “Mass for Christmas Morning” with the Gabrielli Consort and Players.