ACCC National Choral Awards

The National Choral Awards program was established in 1988 to honour outstanding contributions to Canadian choral music. The awards are presented publicly every two years during our national conference, Podium, to honour and celebrate excellence in achievements during the previous two seasons. Each winner receives a certificate. The full list of award winners is posted on the website.

Members of ACCC are eligible to participate in our National Choral Awards program by nominating those in the association who have excelled in areas of artistic achievement, innovative sponsorship or philanthropy, academic achievement, or distinguished service. Nomination Deadline is February 15, 2014.

Winners are selected by a panel of choral experts appointed by ACCC; there is a new roster of people serving on the award jury panel for each competition.

See National Choral Awards

Prix nationaux de chant choral de l'ACCC

Le programme de prix nationaux de l'ACCC a été créé en 1988 en vue de récompenser l'excellence en matière de contributions au chant choral au Canada. Les prix sont décernés publiquement tous les deux ans lors de Podium, notre congrès bisannuel, et reconnaissent les accomplissements effectués pendant les deux saisons précédentes. Chaque lauréat reçoit un certificat. La liste complète des gagnants est affichée sur notre site web.

Les membres de l'ACCC sont invités à participer au programme en nommant d'autres membres de l'Association qui ont excellé dans un des domaines suivants: réalisation artistique, parrainage innovateur ou philanthropie, réalisation scolaire, service exceptionnel. La date limite pour les nominations est le15 février, 2014.

Les lauréats sont sélectionnés par un groupe d'experts désignés par l'ACCC. Les membres du jury changent en fonction du concours.

Voir Prix nationaux de chant choral

2nd Annual HALIFAX SUMMER CHORAL CONDUCTING SYMPOSIUM July 22-26, 2014

Join us this summer for the Halifax Summer Choral Conducting Symposium - July 22-26, 2014 in Halifax, Nova Scotia!

The Halifax Summer Choral Conducting Symposium is a 5-day intensive workshop offering group instruction in choral/vocal pedagogy, conducting technique, choral repertoire, and Dalcroze Eurhythmics; and individual instruction in conducting, voice, piano and organ.  Designed to support the practical work of all levels of choral conductors, we invite school/university educators, church musicians, studio teachers, and undergraduate/graduate music students to participate.

This summer, we welcome Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt, Director of Choral Activities at the University of Toronto, as our guest clinician. 

We also welcome Dr. Caron Daley (Choral Pedagogy, Dalcroze Eurhythmics), Dr. Susan Boddie (Vocal Pedagogy), Lynette Wahlstrom (Church Music, Piano), and Shawn Whynot (Church Music, Organ) to our teaching faculty. 

There are four ways to participate in the symposium:

• Active Conductor (8 spots) - deadline to apply May 15
• Auditing Conductor (unlimited spots) - deadline to register June 1
• Daily Registrant (unlimited spots) - deadline to register June 30
• Member of the Symposium Chorus (by audition) – email halifaxsummerchoral.com for more information

To learn more about the event, or to register, please visit www.halifaxsummerchoral.com*

To join our list-serve for monthly updates, please email halifaxsummerchoral@gmail.com.


*The Halifax Summer Choral Conducting Symposium operates in cooperation with the Nova Scotia Choral Federation, the Royal College of Organists, the Nova Scotia Department of Education and Long and McQuade.  Members of any Canadian provincial choral federation receive a discounted tuition.

NYC 2014 Conducting Apprentice Announced

Congratulations to Irene Apanovitch who has been selected as the 2014 National Youth Choir Apprentice Conductor. Irene will spend two weeks working and studying with NYC/CNJ 2014 conductor, Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt. During this time, she will have the opportunity to observe rehearsals, discuss choral techniques and conduct the NYC/CNJ in performance.

This program is made possible through the generous support of The Sir Ernest MacMillan Memorial Foundation.

Toronto Mendelssohn Choir Announces Conductors Selected for the 4th Annual Choral Conductors’ Symposium in January 2014

The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir’s annual Choral Conductors’ Symposium brings together five emerging conductors for a week of intense master classes and workshops with acclaimed conductor Noel Edison. During the week of January 28 – February 1, 2014 the conductors, selected through a juried application process, have the rare opportunity to conduct both the chamber-sized Elora Festival Singers and the large-scale Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. The Symposium concludes with a free public concert on Saturday, February 1, 2014 at 3 pm at Yorkminster Park Baptist Church in Toronto.

This year the Symposium will focus on Canadian composers; the conductors will work with the choirs on music by Calvert, Chatman, Corlis, Daley, Holman, Raminsh and Willan.  They will also work on excerpts from some of the classical masterworks as well, including Dona nobis pacem from Bach’s B Minor Mass, The Lord is Great from Haydn’s The Creation, and Hear my prayer, O Lord by Purcell.

The five conductors coming to Toronto for the 2013 Symposium are:

Renata Dworak is currently a graduate student in Choral Conducting at the Eastman School of Music. She is the Director of the Repertory Singers at Eastman and Music Director of Lakeville United Church of Christ in Lakeville, NY. She graduated from DePauw University with a Bachelor of Music Education and taught choral music at a High School in Indianapolis.

Jeffrey Moellman is a choral conductor, organist and member of the Royal Canadian College of Organists. He has been Director of Music at Guardian Angels Catholic Church in Orillia, Ontario since 2010.  He received his Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Kent State University and his Bachelor of Music in Organ Performance from The Cleveland Institute of Music.

Sarah Morrison is a music educator, choral conductor and soprano soloist. She began her singing career with the Toronto Mendelssohn Youth Choir.  Sarah has a Master of Music Education from the University of Toronto and is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education.  She sings first soprano in the Canadian Chamber Choir and has been the Artistic Director of The Oakville Children’s Choir since 2007. Sarah was awarded the Leslie Bell Prize in Choral Conducting in 2010.

Raymund Ocampo currently lives in Tampa Bay, Florida where he is Associate Conductor of Master Chorale of Tampa Bay and completing his Master of Music in Choral Conducting studies at the University of South Florida. Prior to the move to Tampa Bay, Raymund was the Director of Music Ministry at Mt. Washington Presbyterian Church and the Founder and Artistic Director of ascend, a professional choir, in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Zachary Maxwell Thompson is a tenor and conductor. He has a Bachelor of Music in Music Education and Voice and is currently completing his Master of Music in Choral Conducting at Austin Peay State University in Tennessee.  Zachary is Director of the Community School of the Arts Adult Chorus in Clarksville, Tennesse and is Assistant Conductor of the Unviersity Choir and Opera Chorus Master at Austin Peay.

Observers are welcome during the Symposium workshops; observer fees are $20 per session or $50 per day.

Find out about the Symposium Schedule: http://www.tmchoir.org/education/conductors-symposium.cfm.

Find out more about the Free Public Concert: http://www.tmchoir.org/tmcPerformances/conductors-symposium-concert.cfm.

CHORAL CONCERT, with host Nick Halley Sunday, December 8, 2013: 9:05 - 10:00 am, (9:35 - 10:30 NT) on CBC Radio 2

Things you never knew about famous Christmas tunes
This Sunday on Choral Concert Nick Halley takes you on a little tour of the mysterious stories behind famous Christmas tunes. Your take on "O Come All Ye Faithful" and "Silent Night" will never be the same.

As Christmas comes down the pike you can also be sure that whether you're a grumpy Scrooge or a chipper Christmas elf, Nick Halley will bring you choral music that is bold, beautiful and fun - starting this Sunday with the bombastic "Christmette" by Michael Praetorius.

INTERPLAY Interactive Workshops for Canadian Choral Composers Application Deadline: December 10, 2013

Jon Washburn and the Vancouver Chamber Choir will deliver the award winning Interplay: Interactive Workshops for Canadian Choral Composers February 7, 2014 in Sudbury, ON and April 8, 2014 in Vancouver, BC

The application brochure is here.

CHORAL CONCERT, with host Nick Halley Sunday, December 1, 2013: 9:05 - 10:00 am, (9:35 - 10:30 NT) on CBC Radio 2

A tour of great Christmas concerts from across Canada

December 1st  - it's winter time and you might just want to just stay in bed in the morning with a book, or curl up in your living room on the couch, not quite ready to go out into the hubbub of the busy world...

But hey, this is the best time of year to go out and hear some great music! So bundle yourself up and head outdoors to catch one of the great concerts happening in December across Canada.

This Sunday on Choral Concert we'll take you from coast and give you just a sampling of what we think will be the best of the best - from the Vancouver Chamber Choir to the King's Singers in Halifax, hopefully you'll hear something about a great concert coming to a hall near you.

For the complete list check out cbcmusic.ca/classical from Friday onwards.

Fundraiser for Typhoon Haiyan Relief

As we watch the news and read the stories online and in print, we have been deeply troubled and touched by the plight of those whose lives have been shattered by the recent Typhoon Haiyan in the Phillipines. As our part to help in the relief effort, from now until December 7th, for every CD purchased through the link to iTunes or CD Baby from our website, or through our office, Elektra will donate $3.00 to the Red Cross to help in the humanitarian effort in the Phillipines. CDs purchased up to and including December 7 may be matched by the Government of Canada to double the impact of your donation. This offer will also apply to all CDs purchased at our upcoming Chez Nous: Christmas with Elektra concerts on November 29th and 30th.

To find out more about how to purchase our CDs, please click here.

Thank you for helping us to help others in this time of desperate need!

The Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto launches its “Celtic Celebration” CD as part of the artsVestTM Business for the Arts Matching Grant and Business Sponsorship Development Programme

Ceud Mìle Fàilte! -- A Hundred Thousand Welcomes!

The Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto, under the musical direction of Conductor Lydia Adams, excitedly announces the CD release of Celtic Celebration, a treasured assortment of Celtic arrangements that includes favourites like Auld Lang Syne, and the much-beloved Song for the Mira, among many others. You will hear stunning arrangements of beautiful melodies and toe-tapping tunes, both familiar and new, from Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and the east coast of Canada, written by some of our favourite composers and arrangers.

The release is being held at, and sponsored by, the Toronto Centre for the Arts on Tuesday, November 26th beginning at 6:00 pm. Amongst our special guests will be Laura Adlers, former General Manager of the Amadeus Choir. Laura is the National Program Director of the artsVestTM program. The Amadeus Choir has been pre-approved to participate in this innovative Business for the Arts matching incentive and sponsorship training program designed to stimulate business sponsorship and corporate engagement in arts and culture. The artsVestTM program is funded in partnership with Canadian Heritage and the Toronto Arts Foundation.

In conjunction with this special event and launch, conductor Lydia Adams invites guests to join the Amadeus Choir in song throughout the evening in The Gallery as the choir prepares for future concerts. Rehearsal is open to the public. Refreshments, hors d'oeuvres, and a cash bar will be available.

November 26, 2013 6:00 pm — 9:00 pm
The Gallery, Toronto Centre for the Arts
5040 Yonge Street, Toronto (at North York Centre subway station)

CHORAL CONCERT, with host Nick Halley Sunday November 24, 2013: 9:05 - 10:00 am, (9:35 - 10:30 NT) on CBC Radio 2

A sequence of great motets

What is a motet anyway?

Well, choral music is generally lumped into various categories, you have mass settings, canticles, anthems, songs etc... but like everything in life there are gaps in between, and the motet is the catch all for those gaps. Anything that doesn't fit into some other choral music box fits into the motet box.

So the definition of a motet is pretty vague, but that is why composers have loved them for centuries because you can do just about anything and call it a motet. There are thousands and thousands of them out there - in all shapes and sizes.

We have sifted through every single one of them for you and chosen 7 of the best, you'll hear great motets by Bach, Poulenc, Mozart, Heally Willan and more.

Rajaton Workshop and Concert to Benefit Sounds of the Next Generation

Sing with RAJATON!
Port Hope United Church, Port Hope Ontario
May 18, 2014

Registration is now open for a day-long workshop and performance with reknowned Finnish vocal ensemble RAJATON, May 18, 2014 at Port Hope United Church. February application deadline for workshop participants. Email rajatonnorthumberland@live.ca for more details.

In association with Kaleid on the Road, proceeds from this workshop and concert will benefit Northumberland County's El Sistema program, Sounds of the Next Generation (SONG). SONG, launched in September 2013, provides free choir, bucket drumming and orchestral programming for under-served children and youth in Northumberland County.

www.songprogram.org