The Bach-Elgar Choir is a community chorus of long standing in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...

, currently directed by Alexander Cann. The Choir is composed of accomplished amateur singers from Hamilton and the neighbouring cities of

Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...

, Oakville,

Mississauga Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

and

Simcoe Simcoe may refer to: Geography Canada * Simcoe, Ontario, a town in southwestern Ontario, near Lake Erie, Canada * Simcoe County, a county in central Ontario, Canada * Lake Simcoe, a lake in central Ontario, Canada * Simcoe North, a federal and pro ...

. Notable performances by the ensemble include the North American première of

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

's ''

Requiem A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

'' and the Canadian premieres of Górecki's ''Miserere'' and

Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

's '' Symphony No. 2'' (the Resurrection). The choir has performed at

Roy Thomson Hall Roy Thomson Hall is a concert hall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located downtown in the city's entertainment district, it is home to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, and the Toronto Defiant. Opened in 1982, its circ ...

in Toronto, The Sanderson Centre in Brantford (with the

Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra located in Buffalo, New York led by Music Director JoAnn Faletta. Its primary performing venue is Kleinhans Music Hall, which is a National Historic Landmark. Each season it p ...

), and at the Brott Music Festival in Hamilton. The choir makes frequent guest appearances with the

Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra The Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra (HPO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Hamilton, Ontario. The orchestra gives concerts primarily at the FirstOntario Concert Hall. History The Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 1949. Its first co ...

History

The Bach-Elgar Choir was founded by

Bruce Carey Bruce Anderson Carey (16 November 1876 – 8 May 1960) was a Canadian choir conductor, baritone, and music educator. He began his career in Hamilton, Ontario, where he notably founded the Bach-Elgar Choir in 1905. After directing that ensemble ...

in 1905 under the name the Elgar Choir. The choir was subsequently conducted by G. Roy Fenwick,

W. H. Hewlett William Henry Hewlett (16 January 1873 – 13 June 1940) was a Canadian organist, conductor, composer, and music educator of English birth. Early life and education Born in Batheaston, Hewlett was a treble in the choir at Bath Abbey as a boy. ...

, and Edward Stewart. The choir disbanded for a few years during World War II, and reformed in 1947, joining with another disbanded amateur chorus, the Bach Choir (founded 1931 by Graham Godfrey), to form the renamed Bach-Elgar Choir. The Bach-Elgar Choir made its debut in 1947 in

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

's ''

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of ''mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach'' ...

'' under

Charles Peaker Charles Peaker (6 December 1899 – 11 August 1978), born in England, was a Canadian organist, choirmaster and academic. Life Peaker was born in Derby in England; aged 13 he moved to Saskatoon, Canada. From the age of 19 he studied in Toronto unde ...

at Hamilton's Centenary United Church. The choir began by presenting a subscription series of three to four concerts per year at Centenary United Church. Cyril Hampshire conducted the choir from 1948 to 1955, John Sidgwick from 1955 to 1960, Frank Thorolfson from 1960 to 1962, and Charles Wilson from 1962 to 1974. The concert series was moved to

Central Presbyterian Church Central Presbyterian Church may refer to: ;in Canada: * Central Presbyterian Church (Hamilton) ;in the United States: * Central Presbyterian Church (Little Rock, Arkansas), listed on the NRHP in Arkansas * Central Presbyterian Church (Denver, ...

during the 1960s. In 1969 Wilson founded a 36-voice subsidiary choir, the Bach Elgar Chamber Singers; they performed small concerts in Hamilton and southern Ontario for a number of years. During the 1970s and 1980s the choir continued its concert series at Christ's Church Cathedral, with Donald Kendrick conducting from 1974 to 1978 and from 1981 to 1983, Philip David Morehead from 1978 to 1980, and Denise Narcisse-Mair from 1980 to 1981. In 1981 the Bach Elgar Children's Chorus was founded. The choir continued under Gerald Fagan from 1983 to 1984. By 1986 the choir had 95 members. Wayne Strongman conducted the choir from 1984 to 1997; in the 1990s, concerts were performed at Toronto's Rosedale United Church, and at Hamilton Place (now

FirstOntario Concert Hall FirstOntario Concert Hall is a music and performing arts venue in downtown Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The venue was originally known as Hamilton Place, and in 1998, became known as the Ronald V. Joyce Centre for the Performing Arts at Hamilton Pl ...

), where it has been a resident ensemble since 1975. Philip Sarabura became conductor in 1998, and Ian Sadler from 2000 to 2005. Concerts have been held at Melrose United Church since 2006.

Howard Dyck Howard Dyck, CM (born November 17, 1942) is a Canadian conductor, public speaker, and radio broadcaster born in Winkler, Manitoba, now living Waterloo, Ontario. He is most well known as the longtime host of CBC Radio programmes ''Choral Concert' ...

was artistic director from 2006 to 2010, and Alexander Cann has been the artistic director since 2010. In 2018 the choir presented a series of concerts with the best-known songs from Gilbert and Sullivan operettas.Judith Caldwell
"Bach Elgar Choir does Gilbert & Sullivan "
''Ontario Arts Review''. 26 Feb 2018

References

External links

Bach–Elgar Choir
in ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' {{authority control Musical groups established in 1905 Canadian choirs Community choirs Musical groups from Hamilton, Ontario Bach choirs 1905 establishments in Ontario