The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir is a Canadian large vocal ensemble based in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. It was co-founded in 1894 by Augustus S. Vogt and

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. ...

to celebrate the opening of the

Massey Hall Massey Hall is a performing arts theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1894, it is known for its outstanding acoustics and was the long-time hall of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. An intimate theatre, it was originally designed to seat ...

. The ensemble was originally an extension of the choir of Jarvis St. Baptist Church in Toronto which Vogt directed and Hewlett accompanied. It is named after the German composer,

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sy ...

. The choir has 150 voices, including a professional core of 20 singers along with auditioned amateur singers. The

chamber Chamber or the chamber may refer to: In government and organizations * Chamber of commerce, an organization of business owners to promote commercial interests *Legislative chamber, in politics * Debate chamber, the space or room that houses delib ...

-sized, 70-voice Mendelssohn Singers is formed from the choir. The choir performs secular and sacred choral masterpieces in its own annual concert series, as well as regular performances with the

Toronto Symphony Orchestra The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1906, the TSO gave regular concerts at Massey Hall until 1982, and since then has performed at Roy Thomson Hall. The TSO also manages the Toronto ...

. The choir has toured in the United States and Europe, performing at the

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

Notre Dame Cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to the ...

, the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

, and major venues in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

and

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. In January 2010, the choir travelled to Vancouver to perform in the 2010 Cultural Olympiad. The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir's outreach programs include Singsation Saturday Choral Workshops for singers, and an annual Choral Conductors' Symposium for emerging conductors.

Recordings

Since 1926, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir has made or been featured in 20 recordings, the most popular being Handel's ''Messiah'' with Kathleen Battle, Florence Quivar, John Aler, Samuel Ramey and the

, under the direction of Sir Andrew Davis (1987). The choir has appeared on movie soundtracks including ''

Agnes of God ''Agnes of God'' is a 1979 play by American playwright John Pielmeier which tells the story of a novice nun who gives birth and insists that the child was the result of a virgin conception. A psychiatrist and the mother superior of the convent cl ...

'' and the award-winning soundtrack to ''

Schindler's List ''Schindler's List'' is a 1993 American epic historical drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Zaillian. It is based on the 1982 novel ''Schindler's Ark'' by Australian novelist Thomas Keneally. The film fo ...

'' (uncredited) under the direction of

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...

. Recent albums under conductor

Noel Edison Noel Edison (born November 16, 1958) is a Canadian conductor. He is currently the conductor of the Edison Singers. Born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of George and Marian Clarissa (Frost), Edison graduated from Jarvis Collegiate in 1978 and Wilf ...

include ''Berlioz: Requiem'' (1998) and ''A Festival of Carols'' (2006).

Conductors

* Augustus Vogt (1894–1917) *Herbert A. Fricker (1917–42) *

Sir Ernest MacMillan Sir Ernest Alexander Campbell MacMillan, (August 18, 1893 – May 6, 1973) was a Canadian orchestral conductor, composer, organist, and Canada's only "Musical Knight". He is widely regarded as being Canada's pre-eminent musician, from th ...

(1942–57) *Frederick Silvester (1957–60) *

Walter Susskind Jan Walter Susskind (1 May 1913 – 25 March 1980) was a Czech-born British conductor, teacher and pianist. He began his career in his native Prague, and fled to Britain when Germany invaded the city in 1939. He worked for substantial periods in ...

(1960–64) *

Elmer Iseler Elmer Walter Iseler, (October 14, 1927 – April 3, 1998) was a Canadian choir conductor and choral editor. He was the conductor of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and founder of the Festival Singers of Canada and the Elmer Iseler Singers. Edu ...

(1964–97) *

(1997–2018) *

Jean-Sébastien Vallée Jean-Sébastien is a French masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Jean-Sébastien Aubin (born 1977), Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender * Jean-Sébastien Fecteau (born 1975), Canadian figure skater * Jean-Sébastien ...

(2021– )

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Canadian choirs Musical groups from Toronto Musical groups established in 1894 1894 establishments in Ontario