Unison Choruses Canada: Call for Proposals For Choral Compositions


Unison has applied for and received funding from the LGBT Purge Fund to commission three new choral works (SSAA, SATB and TTBB) to be premiered at the 2022 Unison Festival in Halifax/K’jipuktuk. People from all across Canada were deeply affected by the LGBT Purge. The Halifax/K’jipuktuk region has particularly deep ties to the LGBT Purge due to the concentration of Armed Forces in the region.

This commission project provides a unique opportunity to create something very special for the 2022 Unison Festival, while shining a spotlight on the LGBT Purge and its impact on Canadian 2SLGBTQIA+ communities and offering comfort to victims of the LGBT Purge. The new pieces will be performed on the final day of the festival by the three festival mass choruses.

Deadline: March 15, 2021

For more details, click here. 

About Unison:
Unison operates as a national hub for Canadian 2SLGBTQIA+ choirs and facilitates connections between choirs across the country. These choirs provide a valuable safe space within their own community for 2SLGBTQIA+ singers and allies, and also act as advocates and ambassadors for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, raising awareness of 2SLGBTQIA+ issues in the broader community and championing acceptance, diversity and inclusion.

Christmas at Home with the Jubilate Singers

Christmas at Home
with the Jubilate Singers and Friends

December 13th @7:00 p.m.

 

A virtual concert to raise funds for food boxes for families in need at Christmas. Due to the new limitations on gatherings, the full Jubilate Singers choir is not able to participate, but we still have a wonderful show planned!

Featuring

  • Ardyth & Jenifer, with Pam Mason and Clara Whitman
  • Holly Arseneault (jazz piano)
  • A Quartet from the Jubilate Singers, under the direction of Terry Hurrell with piano and organ accompaniment by Rob Paddock.
  • Storytellers: Sonya Beeler, Jamie Bradley and Gillian Fowler.

For updates and to receive the link to the virtual concert:

If you wish to donate in advance, you may do so

Any support, small or large, is gratefully accepted! Tax receipts are issued for donations of $15 or more.

NSYC 30th Anniversary Celebration Video Available on Facebook and YouTube!

Even if you weren’t able to join us for the premiere of the NSYC video, you can still view the video on Facebook or YouTube!  At a time where making choral music has been difficult, we hope that this celebration will remind us all of the richness of the choral community here in Nova Scotia. It has been so lovely to receive feedback from members of the Nova Scotian choral  community  that this video felt authentically “Nova Scotian” and truly captured the vibrancy of our provincial choral community.  We hope you enjoy!


At this time, the NSCF asks that you consider making a donation to our NSYC Anniversary fund to help cover some of the lost revenue that the NSCF incurred as a result of the pandemic. To make a donation through our Canada helps, follow this link: https://nscf.ca/support/donate/

Or, consider making a donation to our Facebook Fundraiser, by following this link:  https://www.facebook.com/donate/379983503297651/

Choral Canada: Register Today for Navigating Copyright for Choirs in Canada!

Join Choral Canada with presenters from SOCAN, Entandem, CMRRA, and Edwards Creative Law on Wednesday, December 9 at 12 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. ET (Eastern) to answer your questions about copyright in the Canadian choral context. The presentation will focus on easy to understand regulations for online performances (live streamed and recorded), in-person concerts, and hybrid performances (live streamed/recorded and in-person).

Registration:
– Free for members of Choral Canada
– $10 for non-members (includes HST and Eventbrite fee)

Please register by 9 p.m. Eastern on Monday, December 7.

All registrants will be sent general information about copyright for choirs before the presentation to answer preliminary questions. There will be time for a live Q&A.

Recording of webinar:
All registrants will be sent a recording of the presentation.

Summary notes of the presentation will be provided in French, if requested.

Panelists:

James Leacock
SOCAN
Greg Smith
Entandem Licensing
Andrew Hunter
Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency (CMRRA)

Co-Moderators:

Meghan Hila
Choral Canada

Byron Pascoe
Edwards Creative Law

Pictou Youth advocating for Singing in Schools

The NSCF is proud to see NSYC alum, William Austin, and his classmates at North Nova Education Centre join together to advocate for singing to be permitted in schools. Currently, Nova Scotia is the only province in the Maritimes that has not  permitted and developed guidelines for singing in schools.  To read the full article in the Pictou Advocate, click here. 

LET THEM SING!

Singing is a vital component of elementary school music education. In Canada three times more children under the age of 18 sing in a choir than play hockey. Singing and choir are barrier free activities and how important it is, therefore, to have such experiences available to students



A sincere thank you to this group of New Glasgow, Nova Scotia students, who collaboratively wrote and performed “Without Our Voices” to share how they feel about singing being prohibited in schools throughout the fall of 2020. Expressing themselves creatively, they truly show us that, “where words fail, music speaks”. Annika Murray Cameron Boulter Campbell Hayman Caroline Boulter (violin) Justin Skinner (piano) Kara Taylor William Austin #ChoirIsOurSport #LetThemSing Singing in schools continues to be prohibited in Nova Scotia schools as of December 3, 2020. 
We continue to seek clarity and consistency in Nova Scotia policies around singing.
Knowing that choral singing is a vital part of Nova Scotia communities, the Nova Scotia Choral Federation has been advocating for safe choral singing in community, faith and school settings.
Watch our full presentation to Dr. Strang here:

Meeting with Dr. Strang
Nova Scotia Guidelines

Please share!

CHOIR IS OUR SPORT

Knowing that choral singing is a vital part of Nova Scotia communities, the Nova Scotia Choral Federation has been advocating for safe choral singing in community, faith and school settings.

Currently there is no singing allowed in schools even as sports activities are not only permitted, they take place without social distancing and mask free. Singing and choir are barrier free activities and how important it is, therefore, to have such experiences available to students

We continue to seek clarity and consistency in Nova Scotia policies around singing.

Watch our full presentation to Dr. Strang here: https://youtu.be/hRoBOd0-uCQ

View our guidelines for community choral singing here: https://nscf.ca/covid-19-guidelines-resources/

Please share!

Choral Canada: National Arts and Culture Impact Survey (Complete by November 23rd!)


With the 2020-21 season underway, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have an outsized effect on the arts and culture sector in Canada. Choral Canada has joined forces with 30+ national and provincial arts service organizations representing a range of artistic disciplines across the country to co-commission the National Arts and Culture Impact Survey (NACIS). This survey is intended for professional arts organizations, artists, and arts workers across Canada.

To ensure that the professional segment of our Canadian choral arts sector is heard, we invite professional choral artists/individuals, as well as professional choral organizations, to fill out this survey. These professional artists/individuals include singers, conductors, artistic directors, composers, arrangers, administrators/managers/arts workers, and accompanists/collaborative pianists — anyone receiving fees or salaries for their work in the choral arts sector (non-education).

All professional arts organizations, artists, and arts workers across Canada are encouraged to participate in the survey by Monday, November 23, 2020. The survey will take approximately 10 to 15 minutes to complete. The more responses we receive, the better the data will be.

To read more about the National Arts and Culture Impact Survey, click here. 

Join the HGMC for their Holiday Concert: Don We Now Our Gay Apparel – Home For The Holidays

Join the Halifax Gay Men’s Chorus for this years virtual holiday concert Home For The Holidays!
The holiday season has always been a time for friends and family to join together and give thanks for each other and all that has been achieved in the past year. Though this year has been one of countless challenges we hope that through our music we can help to spread holiday cheer and remind us all of the many things we have to be thankful for and to provide hope for a better tomorrow.
The HGMC will be presenting new pieces, filmed and recorded socially distant as well as including numbers from last years holiday show.
So we encourage you to bake some Christmas cookies, hang the stockings and trim the tree and join us for the digital premier of Home For The Holidays on Thursday, December 17th at 8pm.
Don’t forget to follow HGMC on their social media platforms for further details on how to join on December 23rd.