The Calgary Boys' Choir is a choir for boys in

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada. The choir was founded with 20 members in 1973 by Douglas Parnham, who wanted to "provide a vehicle for young boys to develop their vocal and musical talents and at the same provide the community with another dimension of education and entertainment." Throughout its history, the boys have performed in several different countries, for royalty and with internationally known performers such as Metropolitan Opera baritone

Allan Monk Allan James Monk, (born August 19, 1942) is a Canadian baritone singer. He appeared in the 1982 film adaptation of '' La Traviata''. Early life Monk was born in Mission, British Columbia, and grew up in Burnaby, British Columbia, where both ...

, Gordon Gietz, lyric tenor Mark DuBois, the

Canadian Brass The Canadian Brass is a Canadian brass quintet formed in 1970 in Toronto, Ontario, by Charles Daellenbach (tuba) and Gene Watts (trombone), with horn player Graeme Page and trumpeters Stuart Laughton and Bill Phillips completing the quintet. , ...

Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of American singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to success in the mid-1970s as an R&B singer with the h ...

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...

Kenny Loggins Kenneth Clark Loggins (born January 7, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. His early songs were recorded with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1970, which led to seven albums recorded as Loggins and Messina from 1972 to 1977. His ...

, and

José Carreras Josep Maria Carreras Coll (; born 5 December 1946), better known as José Carreras (, ), is a Spanish operatic tenor who is particularly known for his performances in the operas of Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini. Born in Barcelona, he made his de ...

. Past directors include Gerald Wirth, the current artistic director of the

Vienna Boys' Choir The Vienna Boys' Choir (german: Wiener Sängerknaben) is a choir of boy sopranos and altos based in Vienna, Austria. It is one of the best known boys' choirs in the world. The boys are selected mainly from Austria, but also from many other countr ...

;

Tyrone Paterson Tyrone may refer to: * Kingdom of Tyrone or Tír Eoghain, a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland * County Tyrone, a county in Northern Ireland * Earl of Tyrone, a title in the Peerage of Ireland * Tyrone (name), a male given name Places Canada * Tyrone, On ...

, Canadian opera conductor (approximately 1985–1987); Peter Togni, Canadian composer; and Jean-Louis Barbier. Distinguished alumni include Gordon Gietz, actor and Heebee-jeebees member Jonathan Love, and New York-based actor/singer Alex Birnie. The current artistic director of the Calgary Boys' Choir is Kathryn Berko.

Groupings of Singers

The Calgary Boys' Choir's flagship choir is the Gentlemen's Choir, which is for boys in Grades 5 and up, including boys whose voices have changed. The Gentlemen's Choir was formerly known as the Touring Choir. Boys sing in multiple parts and learn music in various languages and music styles. The Gentlemen's Choir collaborates often with other community partners and will also go on tour. The Masters Choir, formerly known as the Performing Choir, is for boys in Grades 2 through 5. This choir level was created to develop talent and prepare boys for the Gentlemen's Choir. Boys in the Masters Choir continue to work on choral tone and matching vowels, but will also experiment with singing in two parts. They also sing in a language other than English, and through collaboration with the Young Singers, will be exposed to leadership and mentorship skills. Over the years, the Calgary Boys' Choir has offered a Young Singers program, which accepted boys as young as age six. Currently, the Young Singers accepts boys as young as kindergarten. Members of the Young Singers work on choral tone and matching vowels by singing in unison. They sing folksongs in English with limited words so they can focus on matching pitch and tone, and working together as a group. They also tend to move and interact with each other through games and activity. In its first year, the Calgary Boys' Choir recorded 14 boys but grew to around 100 by 1991. At times throughout its history, the Calgary Boys' Choir has included an Early Childhood Music (ECM) division for preschool-aged boys and girls, an Alumni Choir for boys with changed voices, and was briefly affiliated with the Calgary Girls Choir as well as a choral music school.

History

* 1973: Choir founded by Douglas Parnham in

, Canada. * 1976-77: Touring Choir tours

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, ...

and vicinity; record recorded and released: ''Volume I''. * 1977-78: Touring Choir tours

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. * 1978-79: Members of choir featured in ''Tosca'' production of Southern Alberta Opera Association. * 1979-80: Touring Choir tours

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, USA, where July 1 was proclaimed "Calgary Boys' Choir Day" by the mayor of

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

. * 1980-1981: Calgary Boys' Choir declared Official Goodwill Ambassadors by the City of Calgary. * 1981-82: Touring Choir tours

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, and

, releases ''Christmas With the Calgary Boys Choir'' record. * 1982-83: Touring Choir tours Central

, Douglas Parnham receives Alberta Government Achievement Award for exceptional achievement in the arts. * 1983-1984: Touring Choir tours

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

, Saint John, New Brunswick, Sackville, New Brunswick,

Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in ...

, and Halifax. * 1984-1985: Touring Choir tours Central

. * 1985: Boys' Choir participates in a performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 8 to officially open the Jack Singer Concert Hall. * 1985-1986: Touring Choir tours

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

, and

with the Columbia Artists and Overture Concerts; performs with lyric tenor Mark DuBois. * 1986: Boys' Choir releases ''Pot Pourri'' record. * 1986: Members of the Touring Choir appear in

Calgary Opera Calgary Opera is a Canadian opera company based in Calgary, Alberta. The company has its administrative base at the Mamdani Opera Centre, a facility in the Wesley United Church, since July 2005. The company gives its seasonal mainstage productio ...

's production of

La bohème ''La bohème'' (; ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions ''quadri'', ''tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe G ...

Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long li ...

. * 1986-1987: Touring Choir tours

and

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

and

. * 1987: Members of the Touring Choir appear in

's production of

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1 ...

. * 1988: Boys' Choir performs as part of the opening ceremonies for the Calgary 1988

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

. * 1988: Members of the Touring Choir appear in

's production of Carmèn by

Georges Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', whi ...

. * 1989: Touring Choir tours

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

and the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

. * 1991: Douglas Parnham takes the Touring Choir to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

in his last tour as artistic director; Gerald Wirth appointed artistic director; Alumni Chorus created for boys with changed voices. * 1992: Touring Choir travels to Florida to participate in the Florida International Boychoir Festival. * 1992: Boys' Choir releases ''Jubilate'' record, featuring the Touring Choir and Alumni Chorus. * 1993: Boys' Choir celebrates its 20th anniversary. * 1995: Touring Choir and Alumni Chorus tour to Australia. * 1998: Jean-Louis Barbier hired as artistic director. * 2000: Arlie Langager hired as artistic director. * 2004: Paul Grindlay hired as artistic director. Touring Choir travels to the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

and

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

. * 2007: Svetlana Lysogor hired as artistic director. * 2007: Touring Choir travels to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. * 2009: Touring Choir travels to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. * 2010: Paul Grindlay rehired as artistic director; choir rejoins the family of

Mount Royal University Mount Royal University (MRU) is a public university in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. History Mount Royal University was founded by Alberta provincial charter by the Arthur Sifton government on December 16, 1910 and officially opened on September 8 ...

Conservatory choirs. * 2011: Touring Choir travels to

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

to appear in the third international Boys and Mens Choral Festival. * 2013: Boys' Choir celebrates its 40th anniversary * 2013: Touring Choir travels to

* 2017: Boys' Choir leaves family of

Conservatory choirs. * 2018: Gentlemen's Choir travels to France during the summer. * 2018-19: Boys' Choir celebrates 45 years of operation.

References

External links

* .
Mount Royal University Conservatory website
{{authority control Musical groups from Calgary Canadian choirs Musical groups established in 1973 1973 establishments in Alberta