The Vancouver Cantata Singers (VCS) is an auditioned

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, founded in 1959 by organist and conductor Hugh McLean.
Vancouver Cantata Singers
was first formed under the name the Philharmonic Choir in 1958 as a non-auditioned community chorus. The first performance took place on February 6, 1959 at Christ Church Cathedral with the choir performing Bach’s Mass in B Minor. Positive reviews from music critics and successful appearances on

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

eventually inspired the chorus to become an auditioned

semi-professional Semi-professional sports are sports in which athletes are not participating on a full-time basis, but still receive some payment. Semi-professionals are not amateur because they receive regular payment from their team, but generally at a consid ...

ensemble in the early 1970s when

James Fankhauser James Lee Fankhauser (born August 1939 in Lyons, Kansas) is an American conductor, tenor, and educator who is primarily known for his work within the field of choral music in Canada. Fankhauser began his professional studies at Purdue in 1957 wh ...

began to lead the group, winning the Healey Willan Grand Prize in 1984 and a

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

nomination for Best Classical Album (Vocal or Choral Performance) in 1994. From 2002 to 2012 the choir was headed by conductor Eric Hannan, who led the group to win the Healey Willan Grand Prize both in 2008 and 2011. In 2013, long-time VCS member Paula Kremer became artistic director, and in 2019 she led the group to several awards in th
National Competition for Canadian Amateur Choirs
again including

Canada Council The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the federal government's principal i ...

'
Healey Willan Prize
Although the ensemble's name implies focus on music of the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

period, the Vancouver Cantata Singers also perform contemporary music, working frequently with local Canadian composers such as

Jocelyn Morlock Jocelyn Morlock (born 1969) is a Canadian composer and music educator based in Vancouver. Her piece ''My Name is Amanda Todd'' won the 2018 Juno Award for Classical Composition of the Year. Early life and education Morlock was born in Saint B ...

, Peter Hannan
Kristopher Fulton

Imant Raminsh Imant Karlis Raminsh ( Latvian: Imants Kārlis Ramiņš, born 18 September 1943) is a Canadian composer of Latvian descent, best known for his choral compositions. He resides in Coldstream, British Columbia. Early life and education Born ...

Stephen Chatman Stephen Chatman (born 28 February 1950) is an American-born Canadian composer residing in Vancouver. His compositions have been performed across Canada and in the United States. Early life and education Chatman was born in Faribault, Minnesota ...

Jordan NoblesCraig Galbraith
and they also perform pieces arranged by members of the choir.

Conductors

2013–present: Paula Kremer 2002–2012: Eric Hannan 2001-2002: Peter Butterfield 1995-2000: Tony Funk, Assistant Conductor - Associate Conductor, 2000/2001 1973-2000:

1966-1973: John Wiebe 1957-1966: Hugh McLean

Composers in residence

2018–present
Craig Galbraith
2014–2017
Kristopher Fulton

Recordings

*Christmas Reprise XVIII (2021) *Kristopher Fulton: The Twilight Cities (2015) *Rethink Forever (with musica intima, works by Peter Hannan), Winner of the

Western Canadian Music Awards The ''Western Canadian Music Awards'' (WCMAs) are an annual awards event for music in the western portion of Canada. The awards are provided by the Western Canada Music Alliance, which consists of six member music industry organizations from Br ...

br>Outstanding Classical Recording 2011
(2011) *Vancouver Cantata Singers 50 (2011) *A Christmas Reprise (2005) *Rheinberger: Sacred Music, Vol. 5 (1999) *A 1640 Venetian Mass (1998) *Venetian Vespers of 1640 - 1994 Juno Award Nominee; Association of Canadian Choral Conductor's 1994 National Choral Award
Outstanding Choral Recording
(1994)

Awards and honours

2019: National Competition for Canadian Amateur Choirs * Winner of the

Canada Council for the Arts The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the federal government's principal in ...

Healey Willan Prize * First Place: Mixed-Voice Adult category * Second Place: Contemporary category * Best Performance of A Canadian Work in Any Category 2011: National Competition for Canadian Amateur Choirs * Winner of the Healey Willan Grand Prize * First Place: Chamber Choir category 2010: National Competition for Canadian Amateur Choirs * First Place: Contemporary category 2008: National Competition for Canadian Amateur Choirs * Winner of the Healey Willan Grand Prize * First Place: Chamber Choir category 1984: CBC National Radio Competition for Amateur Choirs * Winner of the Healey Willan Grand Prize 1994: Juno Nominee Best Classical Album (Vocal or Choral Performance), Venetian Vespers of 1640

Collaborations

Spinal Chord

From 2009 to 2016, Vancouver Cantata Singers and th
International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries
held collaborative annual fundraisers ("Spinal Chord") to benefit spinal cord research and the arts through both

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

organizations. The choir routinely performs at the Blusson Spinal Cord Centre at

Vancouver General Hospital Vancouver General Hospital (locally known as VGH, or Vancouver General) is a medical facility located in Vancouver, British Columbia. It is the largest facility in the Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Centre (VHHSC) group of medical facilit ...

as a part of their relationship with ICORD.

Early Music Vancouver

Vancouver Cantata Singers regularly collaborates wit
Early Music Vancouver
performing large-scale works with baroque orchestra including Handel's

Theodora Theodora is a given name of Greek origin, meaning "God's gift". Theodora may also refer to: Historical figures known as Theodora Byzantine empresses * Theodora (wife of Justinian I) ( 500 – 548), saint by the Orthodox Church * Theodora o ...

Coronation Anthems A coronation anthem is a piece of choral music written to accompany the coronation of a monarch. Many composers have written coronation anthems. However, the best known were composed by George Frideric Handel for the coronation of the British ...

, and

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'' ...

References

External links

VCS WebsiteVCS YouTubeSpinal Chord Gala
{{authority control Musical groups established in 1959 Canadian choirs Musical groups from Vancouver 1959 establishments in British Columbia