SongBurst Adult Summer Choir brings singers from many choirs together for a week of choral singing in a casual and supportive environment.  Our fun and inspiring artistic team is made up of some of outstanding pedagogues and conductors from across Alberta. At the end of the week, the choir performs a wrap-up concert for family, friends, and fans, in collaboration with SongBurst KIDS Summer Choir Workshop.

SongBurst 2024

Monday, Aug 12 – Friday, Aug 16, 7:00-9:15 p.m.
Crestwood Community League (​14325 96 Avenue NW)

Monday, Aug 12 – post-rehearsal ice cream from DaVinci Cone (at 9:15 p.m.)
TACO Wednesday, Aug 14 – pre-rehearsal tacos from El Mero Mero food truck
Wrap-up concert – Friday, Aug 16, 7:30-8:30 p.m. (participant call time 6:00 p.m.)
Event Centre, Northeast River Valley Park

Wrap-Up Concert

Friday, Aug 16, 7:30 p.m.
Northeast River Valley Park. Edmonton

Join us in the beautiful Northeast River Valley Park Event Centre for our annual SongBurst Wrap-up Concert! This casual concert features the SongBurst Adult Summer Choir and participants from the SongBurst KIDS Summer Choir Workshop singing a variety of uplifting and inspirational music. A food truck will be on site serving concert snacks and drinks.

Artistic team

LIZ PAYNTER, CONDUCTOR
Choir director Elizabeth Paynter was a music specialist with the Calgary Board of Education for over 35 years, and from early in her teaching career began directing choirs in the Calgary choral community. Elizabeth is the Artistic Director of the Children’s and Youth Choir Program at Mount Royal University, the founder and director of EnChor Chamber Choir, an auditioned vocal ensemble, and she is the Director of Music at Scarboro United Church. Elizabeth is passionate about making music accessible to all, and her extensive teaching experience allows her to guide and motivate musicians of all ages to the highest level of achievement, with much joy and laughter along the way.
​KATHERINE TILBURY, PIANIST
Katherine Tilbury is an expressive pianist who is passionate about collaborative piano and youth education. Katherine is a versatile pianist and has studied contemporary, jazz and classical repertoire. She maintains an active private piano studio and is extremely passionate about music education. This dedication is demonstrated not only through teaching studio lessons and masterclasses, but through her position at The King’s University where she works with instrumentalists both in studio classes, and as a recital partner. Through her work as a freelance soloist and collaborator, Katherine has enjoyed playing wonderful works of choral repertoire with choirs in Edmonton including Kapella Kyrie Slavic Chamber Choir, Accord Ensemble and the Archbishop Jordan Choirs under Jolaine Kerley. Her most recent projects include acting as Music Director for Archbishop Jordan High School’s senior production of Little Women and Repetiteur for Pop Goes the Opera's production of Suor Angelica in 2022. ​
KIMBERLEY DENIS, VOCAL COACH
Kimberley Denis is known for her energy and enthusiasm both on stage and off, and is sought after as a soloist, vocal coach, choral clinician, and adjudicator for voice and choir. Vocal credits include starring in a year-long tour with Up With People, as well as productions of Jason Robert Brown's song cycle Songs for a New World, as Cathy in The Last Five Years, and as Kate in Kiss Me, Kate! She is a singer with Edmonton’s professional choir, Pro Coro Canada and has toured extensively as a singer with the world percussion group, the Jamani Duo. In addition to her stage work, she has a flourishing voice studio at her own music school – the Purple Door Music Academy, and is also the voice instructor at the King’s University in Edmonton. She currently conducts Shumayela (a choir for treble and changing voices for singers between the ages of 11 and 16) with the Kokopelli Choir Association and the Lynne Singers (a non-auditioned adult community ensemble). 

Other Activities

PRIVATE VOCAL COACHING
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoons
​In these sessions, participants will be taken through a series of vocal exercises to identify tips and tricks to make singing easier and solve individual vocal challenges. Coaching's will be positive, encouraging, and practical with techniques that can be incorporated into your singing immediately.
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON WORKSHOP
4:00-5:30 p.m., Crestwood Community Hall
Open to SongBurst participants and non-SongBurst choral singers
​
​Looking Past the Lyrics: Deciphering the Details — Liz Paynter, workshop facilitator
Do you know the difference between a time and key signatures? Why are some notes joined together in different groupings while others stand-alone? What are those extra lines, wiggly things, dots, and arrows, anyway? Take a deep dive into the musical score and all that there is to attend to when learning a piece, even if you "don't read music!"