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 2025

Monday, Aug 11 – Thursday, Aug 14, 7:00-9:15 p.m.
Rehearsals at Crestwood Community Hall (​14325 96 Avenue NW)
Monday, Aug 11 – post-rehearsal ice cream from DaVinci Cone (at 9:15 p.m.)
Wednesday, Aug 13 – come early (5:00ish p.m) and grab supper from a food truck at Crestwood Hall
Friday, Aug 15, 7:30-8:30 p.m. (singer call time 6:00 p.m.) 
Wrap-up Concert at Northeast River Valley Park Event Centre

Wrap-Up Concert

Friday, Aug 15, 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.

​TICKETS AVAILABLE SOON!

Artistic team

JOANNE COLLIER, CONDUCTOR
Joanne Collier has shared her passion for choral singing with people of all ages as either a singer or conductor her entire life. She has been Music Director of Vox Musica in Lethbridge, AB since 2019, an ensemble that performs major works with the Lethbridge Symphony Orchestra and enjoys collaborating with local choirs and musical ensembles. Currently, Joanne is a teacher with Holy Spirit Catholic School Division. She is the former Music Director at St. Augustine’s Anglican and Southminster United Church. For nineteen years she was on faculty at Medicine Hat College where she taught voice and directed children’s, youth, and adult choirs including the award-winning Medicine Hat College Girls’ Choir.

Originally from Boissevain, Manitoba, Joanne holds a Bachelor of Music (Performance) from the University of Manitoba and Master of Music (Vocal Performance) from the University of British Columbia. Following an accomplished career of almost twenty years, she entered the Faculty of Education at the University of Lethbridge in 2011 where she received the William Aberhardt Gold Medal. She is the recipient of the Choir Alberta “Con Spirito” award, the Johann Strauss Foundation scholarship for study in Austria, Medicine Hat College Employee of the Year and City of Medicine Hat Civic Award for contributions to the arts.
​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. ​
MAIRI-IRENE McCORMACK, VOCAL COACH
Originally from Cape Breton, mezzo-soprano Mairi-Irene McCormack is a versatile performer and teacher based in Edmonton, Alberta. She holds a Performer Diploma in Vocal Performance from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music (2017) and a Masters of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Alberta (2019.) Mairi-Irene has had experience performing a wide-range of genres from folk and pop music to classical music and opera. In addition to her career as a performer, Mairi-Irene has been teaching voice for over ten years. She is currently a sessional instructor at Concordia University of Edmonton, where she teaches courses in Vocal Literature and Vocal Diction, as well as group and private voice lessons. Mairi-Irene maintains a busy home studio, teaching dynamic and engaging lessons to adults, young professionals, and children as young as six years old. She specializes in breath and body work and enjoys helping singers build their confidence in themselves and their ability to communicate through song.

Other Activities

ONE-ON-ONE 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
4:30-5:30 p.m., Crestwood Community Hall
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African Choral Music Workshop — Garth Prince, workshop facilitator
Workshop description coming soon!