The Messiah Project is an Against the Grain Theatre and Opera InReach collaborative effort giving two schools from across Canada a professional filming and recording experience and a pre-show feature for the premiere of the internationally acclaimed Messiah/Complex! 

Two Canadian choirs, whose members are aged 14-18, will perform the “Hallelujah Chorus”  from Handel’s Messiah in a video that will be featured in the pre-show event of Against the Grain’s Messiah/Complex. On top of singing the piece, choirs will create a filmed version of their performance. The final product will result in a video of both choirs’ performances combined, but each choir will receive a video of their group’s performance.

The chosen choirs will receive:

• A professional recording and filming opportunity
• A filmed “music video” of their Hallelujah Chorus performance 
• A meet-and-greet chat with an artist from Messiah/Complex
• A feature in the pre-show experience of Messiah/Complex including interviews and discussion with selected students and ensemble leaders
• A feature on both Opera InReach & Against the Grain’s websites

Secondary school choirs in Canada, or community choirs for singers aged 14-18, are eligible to apply.

HOW TO APPLY
​To apply, submit either a video or written response that allows us to get to know your choir and community. All official submissions must be submitted through our Google Form by your teacher/conductor. If you create a social video, generate some buzz for your choir by sharing it and tagging @operainreach and @atgtheatre using the hashtag #themessiahproject. 

For written responses, there will be a form field in the application as well as an option to upload an image or sample of your work.

Application Deadline: October 15th, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. 

For more information, visit the Opera InReach website: ​https://www.operainreach.com/the-messiah-project​

The Sound Space conducting workshop will serve Calgary conductors who work in schools, community ensembles, and faith community settings. This one-day workshop targets the needs of emerging conductors, teachers near the outset of their careers, university music students, and instrumental conductors wanting to gain choral experience. 

This workshop will take place Saturday 25 September 2021 in Calgary.

The Sound Space workshop provides cross-training in four fundamental tasks of the conductor:

• How can conductors foster a sound space? 
• How does vocal tone and expression determine conducting gesture and pedagogy?
• How can conductors bring scores to life through analysis and by taking personal ownership of the music? 
• How can conductors combine the technical and the expressive in their gesture?

Participants will receive full-group instruction, small-group instruction, and individual instruction. The entire workshop will be structured around four choral pieces. Participants are asked to study all four pieces in advance, and to prepare one of them to conduct and receive coaching during the final masterclass.  

Registration Deadline: 15 August. Registrations after the deadline will be considered if space is available.

For more information and to register for this workshop, please visit the Spiritus Chamber Choir website.

After missing performing for over a year, the University of Alberta Madrigal Singers are excited to announce a unique and COVID-19 friendly “Car Choir” event from the safety of our own vehicles. Under director Dr. Timothy Shantz, the Madrigal Singers will be performing together using microphones, hearing each other through the car radios.

The concert will take place on Saturday, March 13 at 11AM, in Parking Lot N at the University of Alberta (closest to the Fine Arts Building and HUB Mall), and the performance will last between 60-75 minutes.

Audience members can get tickets for $25 per car, as well as pre-purchase brunch options, courtesy of Under The High Wheel. Ticket-holders will be able to choose from three brunch options, which will be handed out upon arrival to the event. 

Please note, brunch options must be purchased by Tuesday, March 9, 2021. Online ticket sales will also cut-off 2 hours prior to the event, and there will be no opportunity to purchase tickets at the event.

Tickets and brunch can be purchased here: https://subline.ualberta.ca/portals/11

Elk Island Regional Honour Choirs are pleased to announce their spring 50/50 Fundraiser, taking place from February 15 to March 30, 2021. The prize for this 50/50 will be half of ticket sales, to a maximum of $2,500.

The Choirs are operated by the Elk Island Regional Honour Choirs Association and offer three auditioned choirs for students residing in the Strathcona County and surrounding areas. Choristers range in ages from 5 to 19. The choirs exist to enrich the musical experience of gifted amateur singers and are funded in part by membership fees, fundraising, business sponsorships and grants. Choirs practice weekly, with three concerts annually, including the Imagine Concert, which raises funds for a cause important to the choristers. In addition, the Secondary choir tours within Canada and the Junior choir performs at local schools. All of the choirs participate in additional events such as performing at music festivals, the Festival of Trees, at nursing homes, churches, sporting and other public events.

For more information on this fundraiser and the Elk Island Regional Honour Choirs Association, please visit their website: http://www.elkislandchoirs.ca/

4TH ANNUAL CHORAL COMPOSITION COMPETITION
DEADLINE EXTENDED: 11 January 2021

Chronos Vocal Ensemble is an ambitious nonprofessional choir based in the Edmonton area. Founded in 2013, we deliver compelling and high-calibre choral performances in Edmonton and beyond. In 2015, we won the Healey Willan Grand Prize in the National Competition for Canadian Amateur Choirs. Chronos has released three recordings, each including new music by Canadian composers: Presenting Chronos Vocal Ensemble (2015), The Simplest Way: The Music of Trent Worthington (2016) and Fresh:New Music from Canada (2018). The choir has performed at Podium both in 2016 (Edmonton) and 2018 (St. John’s). In March 2020, Chronos appeared at the Northwest Division Conference of the American Choral Directors Association in Spokane, WA. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, in the initial part of the 2020-21 Season, Chronos Vocal Ensemble has produced outdoor performances, experimented with virtual and in-person rehearsal styles, and released two virtual-choir-style recordings including the premiere of Matthew Emery’s new work “Breathe”. Now, we are pleased to launch the 2020 edition of the Chronos Vocal Ensemble Choral Composition Competition.

For 2020 we are seeking a composition that will feel timely and relevant for performance in spring 2021 but which will also be meaningful beyond the short term. We also prefer to select a winning entry that will provide for flexibility in the means of rehearsing and producing a premiere performance if necessary. This may mean limited in-person rehearsal, a premiere in virtual-choir style, or with a reduced number of singers.

The competition prize has been generously provided by an anonymous supporter for the fourth consecutive season.

Eligibility

• Composer must be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or landed immigrant. 
• The work submitted must be original, not an arrangement of a pre-existing work or melody. 
• The composition must not have been commissioned, published, performed or recorded at the time of entry, and must remain so until premiered by Chronos Vocal Ensemble within the following year. 
• Entries employing a text under copyright must provide proof of permission.

Prizes

• The winning composition will be premiered by Chronos Vocal Ensemble in 2021 in live or recorded format. The composer will receive a recording of the performance.
• A prize of $1500 will be awarded.
• Chronos Vocal Ensemble will champion the winning composition and promote the work further as warranted. 

Full guidelines and submission instructions are found at https://chronosvocalensemble.com/new-music/choral-composition-competition/

Long & McQuade is proud to announce that their annual reading clinics will be offered in a virtual format this year. All sessions are FREE and there will be something for everyone! 

AUGUST 19 — three sessions of secular music presented by  Willi Zwozdesky
 
1) High School and Adult Community Choir
2) Middle School and Children's Choir
3) Advanced Mixed-Voice and Equal Voice Choir
 
AUGUST 20 — sacred music led by Joseph Martin
 
1) Thanksgiving, Advent, Christmas and Epiphany.
2) General Worship and Ordinary Time
3) Lent, Holy Week, Easter, and Pentecost

To register and for more information about any session please email Tracy Richardson at 
[email protected]. Be sure to indicate the specific session(s) you are interested in joining.

THIRD ANNUAL CHORAL COMPOSITION COMPETITION
Deadline: December 15, 2019
Chronos Vocal Ensemble is an ambitious nonprofessional choir based in the Edmonton area, and the Healey Willan Grand Prize Winner of the 2015 National Competition for Canadian Amateur Choirs. Founded in 2013, we perform an annual season of concerts in Edmonton and tour regularly in the surrounding area. The ensemble has released three recordings: Presenting Chronos Vocal Ensemble (2015), The Simplest Way: The Music of Trent Worthington (2016) and most recently Fresh (2018); each recording features new Canadian compositions for choir. Chronos performed at Podium 2016 (Edmonton) and 2018 (St. John’s); in March 2020 the choir will undertake a first international tour, anchored by a performance at the Northwest Division Conference of the American Choral Directors Association in Spokane.
We are pleased to launch the 2019 edition of the Chronos Vocal Ensemble Choral Composition Competition. This year, for the first time, we are providing a defining parameter for the competition: all entries must set poetry of Sara Teasdale, and the winning entry will be performed on an April 2020 program devoted to settings of this poet.
American poet Sara Teasdale (1884-1933) created a wealth of texts that have since been treated by composers from all over the world, and her lyricism and vivid descriptions of nature and inner life are a treasure trove for those who set words to music. We encourage prospective entrants to learn about the poet and become familiar with this rich material: PoetryFoundation.org. and Poets.org. Complete poetry available in hardcover, paperback and kindle from amazon.ca (not an affiliate link)
 
Eligibility
● Composer must be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or landed immigrant.
● The work submitted must be original, not an arrangement of a pre-existing work or melody.
● The composition must not have been commissioned, published, performed or recorded at the time of entry, and must remain so until premiered by Chronos Vocal Ensemble within the following year.
● Composition must substantially be a setting of the words of Sara Teasdale
Prizes
● The winning composition will be performed by Chronos Vocal Ensemble in April 2020. The winner will receive a recording of the performance.
● Prize of $1500 will be awarded.
● Chronos Vocal Ensemble will champion the winning composition and to promote the work further as warranted.
● For a competition winner interested in attending the premiere, Chronos Music Society may be able to contribute to costs.
Full Guidelines and Entry Form available at chronosvocalensemble.com/competition
 

 
Chronos Music Society, c/o 10615 137 St Edmonton AB T5N2H5. 
Charity registration # 820201788RR0001.
 

i Coristi Chamber Choir is proud to support the composition of new Canadian works for choir through this biennial competition. The winning composition will be chosen by a blind jury and will be performed at one of i Coristi's concerts in 2020. The winning composer will receive a prize of CAD $1,000 and an archival recording of the performance.

About the choir i Coristi Chamber Choir is a 24-voice choir based in Edmonton, AB, now entering its 26th season. Membership is by audition and encompasses a broad cross section of the population: accountants, teachers, computer programmers, nanotechnologists, designers, theologians, administrators, office personnel—singers for whom music is their vocation, and singers for whom music is their avocation!

The name i Coristi is Italian, meaning "the choral singers". Noted for its unique, eclectic programming, the choir focuses on a cappella masterpieces from the Renaissance to the 21st century, presented in three main concerts each season; the choir also performs at seniors' facilities and various local businesses and gatherings.

The choir performs at an advanced level, and alongside choral standards it includes in its repertoire new commissions, improvisation, extended vocal techniques, spatial performance elements, and other innovations. The choir’s 2018/2019 season, for example, included the first-ever collaboration between a Western choir and the sarangi, including new music written specifically for the combination, and choral improvisation. Accordingly, we welcome submissions in a broad range of styles, whether a more traditional choral setting, or more adventurous material suited for a chamber ensemble of advanced amateur performers.
Rules & Regulations

1. Canadian citizens and permanent residents living in Canada are eligible to submit entries.
2. Submissions must be original compositions (not arrangements) that are unpublished, have not
   yet been publicly performed, and are not currently under consideration in another competition.
3. Pieces must be approximately 4 to 5 minutes in length, for a cappella SATB choir; 2-part or occasional 3-part divisi is acceptable.
4. The composer must have obtained the necessary permissions to set copyrighted texts.
5. If a winning entry is selected, i Coristi Chamber Choir will award the composer a prize of CAD $1,000, will perform the work at one concert in the 2020 calendar year and will make available to the composer a copy of the archival recording.
6. All entrants retain copyright to submitted pieces. I Coristi Chamber Choir will retain the exclusive performance rights to the winning piece for one year following the awarding of the prize, as well as perpetual, non-exclusive recording and mechanical rights.
7. Application deadline is October 31, 2019. A winner will be selected and announced by November 30, 2019.
8. i Coristi Chamber Choir reserves the right not to select a winning entry.

Application Procedure

1. A PDF of the score must be submitted to [email protected]. Please remove all identifying marks from the score (i.e. composer's name).
2. If the piece uses a copyrighted text, please provide proof that permission has been received to set the text. (Compositions that have not received the necessary permissions in this regard are ineligible for the competition.)
3. There is a fee of CAD $25 per entry. Composers are permitted to submit up to two entries; however, each entry requires a separate entry fee. The entry fee should be mailed to the address below. (E-mail transfers can be accepted; please e-mail [email protected] for the necessary details.) Please clearly indicate the composer's name with your entry and provide full contact information.
4. Scores and entry fees must be received by October 31, 2019.

Please mail entry fees via cheque or money order payable to “i Coristi Chamber Choir” to:
​
i Coristi Chamber Choir
P.O. Box 52068 Garneau
Edmonton, AB T6G 2T5

The week will involve Tim Shantz as instructor, a local pianist, guest clinician, Timothy Pyper who is a certified Alexander Technique instructor (as well as an organist and choir director) and a professional choir of 16 singers. There will be daytime sessions for up to 6 active conductors to work with Tim Shantz as well as Tim Pyper on Alexander Technique and body awareness. 

Each evening the active conductors will have the opportunity to work with 16 professional singers. 

The conducting workshop will culminate in a performance on the Friday evening. Participants will pay a fee for the week. Observers will also be able to attend all sessions for a smaller fee. General public will attend the concert for a small ticket fee. 

The workshop is directed to Calgary conductors (teachers and community members) but we expect that there will be interest outside of Calgary, throughout Alberta as well as nationally. We will be accepting 6 participating conductors. 

Repertoire will be finalized and sent out 4-6 weeks in advance.
For any questions and to receive the application form, contact General Manager Kristýna Rempel at [email protected].


More information is available here