The Toronto Children's Chorus is a children's choir based in

Toronto 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 anch ...

. It was founded in 1978 by Jean Ashworth Bartle. The group has close to 500 members aged 6 to 30.

History

In 1982, the choir won first prize at the

International Eisteddfod The Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod is a music festival which takes place every year during the second week of July in Llangollen, North Wales. It is one of several large annual Eisteddfodau in Wales. Singers and dancers from around ...

in Wales. Other awards followed, including first place in the prestigious Let the Peoples Sing Competition in 1993 and numerous 1st places in the CBC choral competition. The Toronto Children's Chorus has performed at Carnegie Hall (1994),

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 ...

(1995), the

Kimmel Center The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts is a large performing arts venue at 300 South Broad Street and the corner of Spruce Street, along the stretch known as the Avenue of the Arts in Center City Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is owned an ...

(2002), Royal Albert Hall (2002), Sydney Opera House (1999),

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(2006) and the

Stephansdom St. Stephen's Cathedral (german: Stephansdom) is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna and the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, OP. The current Romanesque and Gothic form of the cathedra ...

(2006). The Chorus was also honoured to serve as Artist-in-Residence for international children's choir festivals in Tuscany, Italy (1995) and Sydney, Australia (1999). In August 2007, Elise Bradley, a New Zealand conductor and teacher previously based in Auckland, became the new Artistic Director of the organization.

Levels

The TCC consists of five main groups: Preparatory Choir, Training Choir I, II and III, and the Toronto Children's Chorus (main choir). In 2012, the Toronto Youth Choir was founded for those who have graduated out of the Main Choir. In the 2019/20 season, the TYC had 65 choristers aged 16 to 30. Children as young as 5 or 6 can audition for the youngest choir, then begin moving up in the training choir levels until they reach the Main Choir. In the Main Choir, there are also several subgroups, including the Cantare and Chorale ensembles. Within Cantare are Apprentices, Senior Apprentices, and full Cantare members. Within the Chorale choir are Chorealis, Chamber, and the Choral Scholars. The Chamber choir is the group that tours, sometimes joined by members of Chorale.

Tours

*2019 - New Zealand and Australia *2018 - New York (Toronto Youth Choir) *2017 - Spain and the 11th World Symposium on Choral Music in Barcelona *2016 - Boston and New York City - Carnegie Hall *2015 - Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland *2014 - Podium 2014 in Halifax, Canada *2013 - Ihlombe South Africa Choral Festival in Cape Town, South Africa *2013 - Montreal and Ottawa - Soundstreams and the Fujii Ensemble *2012 - Podium 2012 in Ottawa, Canada *2012 - Adolf Fredrik Music School's international "Let the Future Sing" festival in Stockholm, Sweden *2011 - 9th World Symposium on Choral Music in Puerto Madryn, Argentina *2011 - Melodia Festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Buenos Aires, Argentina *2009 - Austria, Czech Republic, Germany *2006 - New York State *2006 - Hungary, Slovakia, Austria

Recordings

*''Dancing Day'' (1992) *''Mostly Britten'' (1993) *''Come Ye Makers of Song'' (2000) *''My Heart Soars'' (2004) *''Songs of the Lights'' (2005) *''How Sweet the Sound'' (2006) *''A Song for All Seasons'' (2007) *''A Ceremony of Carols'' (2009) *''Sounzscapes from Our Lands'' (2013)

Conductors

* 1978 to 2007 Jean Ashworth Bartle * 2007 to 2021 Elise Bradley * 2022 Matthew Otto (interim) * 2022 to Present Zimfira Poloz

References

External links

Toronto Children's Chorus web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toronto Childrens Chorus Canadian choirs Musical groups from Toronto Choirs of children Musical groups established in 1978 1978 establishments in Ontario