By scotianaires e-notes • Member Blog 0 Comments

Halifax based chorus ScotianAires retain Atlantic championship with new high score!

The ScotianAires, an a cappella chorus made up of women from across the Halifax region, and Tonic!, a quartet made up of four members of the ScotianAires, have retained top honours at Atlantic Canada’s most prestigious competition for women barbershop singers. Both were repeat champions at the chorus competition at the Harmony Inc. 2018 Area 1 Convention and Contests (AC&C) held in Sackville, NB on June 1, 2018.
It was an exciting win for the chorus who became the first Atlantic chapter to achieve a score of 900 since the competition began 44 years ago! Director Sue Kember reflects on the experience: “Our goal of improving our scores was met and surpassed as we earned the highest scores ever in our area. It was an incredible feeling to know that all our hard work was rewarded especially since we recently celebrated our 35th anniversary as a chorus. It is so wonderful to work with these amazing women who keep the music alive with their desire to improve and who also maintain and enjoy the special camaraderie that is the ScotianAires!”
Tonic! took home the first-place Wona Wright Memorial Award and also the Karen Gordon Memorial Award, presented to the quartet with the highest performance score. ScotianAires’ quartet enJOY! were right behind them in second place and the newest competing quartet from the chorus, Arpeggio, earned a respectable fifth place finish in their first competition.
The ScotianAires, Tonic! and enJOY! all qualified to compete against choruses and quartets from across North America at the International Convention and Contests (IC&C) to be held in Orlando, Florida in November, 2018.
Director Kember also hopes their success will help to raise the profile of women’s a cappella singing in the Halifax region. “We’re always looking to expand our membership, so if you’re a woman who loves to sing, we want to hear from you”.
For more information contact the ScotianAires at info@scotianaires.ca , visit us at scotianaires.ca or find us on Facebook and Twitter!

By pwalty e-notes • Member Blog • Singers Wanted 0 Comments

Aeolian Singers – Auditions for 2018-19 season

Looking for choral music opportunities with a fabulous community of women? Do you love to sing great music, love a challenge, and love to laugh? The Aeolian Singers is holding auditions for committed choristers with previous singing experience for their 2018-19 season, which begins in September.

The choir recently completed its 42nd season, the first one under the artistic direction of Nova Scotian choral conductor Heather Fraser. The Aeolians perform five to six times per year, and are accompanied by pianist Diana Torbert.

You can learn more about the choir at www.aeoliansingers.ca (go to How to join the choir). Auditions will take place in on June 11, 18, 25 (Monday nights) and June 16 and 23 (Saturdays) at the NS Choral Federation on Marginal Road in Halifax (near Pier 21).

For more information, or to schedule an audition, please contact the choir’s Assistant Conductor, Joanne Slack, at mjslack@eastlink.ca, or call (902) 473-1869 and leave a message to schedule your audition.

By JBennet e-notes • Member Blog 0 Comments

Eastern Horizon Concert Information!

The results are in! Join the Eastern Horizon Chamber Choir in its first performances on June 14th in Halifax and June 15th in Lunenburg to hear the premiere of three new works by composers who have been shortlisted as finalists in the Eastern Horizon Choral Writing Competition, as well as other pieces by composers from marginalized identities – individuals whose identities have long been, and continue to be, underrepresented in the choral canon.

The finalists are Julijana Hajdinjak (ON), Ryan Henwood (NS), and Marie-Claire Saindon (QC).

The Halifax performance will take place at 7pm on June 14th at First Baptist Church (1300 Oxford Street). The Lunenburg performance is on June 15th at 7:30pm at St. John’s Anglican Church (64 Townsend Street). Entry is Pay-What-You-Can (ranging from $0 to $20) at the Halifax concert, and $20 for the Lunenburg concert.

Eastern Horizon is an intensive and high-level choral ensemble led by Jack Bennet and Christina Murray within the Choirs for Change Association, a newly-registered non-profit organization based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Our choirs are collectives of singers and activists seeking to support social change movements through innovative choral events.

We hope you can make it! If you have any questions, contact Choirs for Change through our Facebook page or by emailing choirsforchange@gmail.com.

By NSCFMGR e-notes • Front Page • Member Blog 0 Comments

Unison Festival – Halifax 2022

Unison Halifax 2022

The Unison Festival began in Edmonton in 1998, after the then artistic director of Edmonton Vocal Minority, David Garber, suggested a weekend choral festival to bring together Canadian LGBTQ choruses, who may not otherwise be able to attend the week-long GALA festivals that take place in the United States. Quickly gaining the support of the Edmonton LGBTQ community (the city’s Pride Day was even moved in order to coincide with the festival), the inaugural Canadian GALA Choruses Festival ’98 proved to be a resounding success, bringing together 15 choruses from all across Canada, eager to return for another festival. Since then the festival has been presented every four years. During the 2010 festival, the decision was made to create a formal national Unison organization, in order to develop and maintain formal guidelines regarding the hosting of futures Unison events. Unison has taken place in in Edmonton in 1998, Toronto in 2002, Vancouver in 2006, Winnipeg in 2010, Ottawa in 2014 and most recently in Calgary this past weekend. In Calgary, the Women Next Door, a Halifax based chorus, presented and won the bid to host Unison 2022 in Halifax! Partnering with the Nova Scotia Choral Federation, Choirs for Change and Xara Choral Theatre Unison will take place in Halifax as The Women Next Door celebrate their 30 Anniversary. Artistic Director Willi Zwozdesky, Vancouver, is no stranger to us on the east coast and is very excited that Unison 2022 will be hosted Nova Scotia!

By NSCFMGR e-notes • Front Page • Member Blog 0 Comments

Thanks for the Tune ees

NSCF would like to thank the following choirs for there support of this year’s Toss-a-Tune-ee campaign.  Donations this year total $1728.45 and will help support the our provincial youth choir and our National Youth Choir quartet.

Aeolian Singers
Annapolis Valley Honour Choir
Aylesford United Church Choir
Cape Breton Chorale
Coastal Voices
Dalhousie Health Professions Choir
Dartmouth Choral Society
Digby Choral Federation
Enchor East
First United Church Choir
Halifax Camerata Singers
King’s Chorale
North Mountain Chorus
Seton Canata Choir
South Shore Chorale

If you would still like to Toss-Tune-ee with your choir – it is never too late to participate.

By NSCFMGR e-notes • Job Postings 0 Comments

Annapolis Valley Honour Choir is Seeking the Services of a Contract Coordinator

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ANNAPOLIS VALLEY HONOUR CHOIR www.avhc.ca
COORDINATOR

Position:  Contract
Remuneration:  $8000-12 months

Reporting:
The Coordinator
• is contracted by the Board of Directors, is ultimately responsible to the Board and reports directly to the Board;
• is supervised by the Artistic Director and Board President;
• works with the Bookkeeper, Event Volunteers, and Board Committee Chairs when necessary.

Summary: AVHC is looking for a competent Coordinator to provide assistance to Choir operations. The Coordinator will be responsible for management, including registration, assisting the Artistic Director with auditions, record keeping, financial coordination, event and production logistics.

Qualifications Required:
Formal education:
• Post-secondary formal qualification in business, communications, or related field (or equivalent work experience)

Experience:
• Preferred minimum 1 year prior experience in administration, communications and promotional work, preferably in the arts community.

Special skills:
• Technological skills including familiarity with: Google apps (including Google Drive), social media (Twitter, Facebook Pages, YouTube),
• Excellent working knowledge of Google Drive, Microsoft Suite (Word/Excel), Adobe Acrobat
• Excellent fiscal management and responsibility
• Ability to balance, prioritize, and manage many variable tasks
• The incumbent should be confident and very efficient; they should have exceptional communication and organizational skills and be a self-directed worker

Application Closing Date: March 9, 2018 

Please direct cover letter, and resume with references to Ward MacDonald, President of AVHC at AVHCsecretary@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By JBennet e-notes • Member Blog 0 Comments

New Choral Writing Competition – Choirs for Change

Choirs for Change is thrilled to announce our newest project: Eastern Horizon!

This will be Canada’s first choral writing competition that celebrates the work of composers of marginalized identities who have been affected by the structural injustices of society.

Spread the news – entry is free! Follow the link for the full competition details: https://goo.gl/yprd4w

To be eligible to enter in this competition, you must identify with a community that has been historically and/or traditionally marginalized by the structural injustices of society. A non-comprehensive list of these communities include: First Nations people, femme folk, women, people of colour, African Canadians, LGBTQ+ people, newcomers, people with disabilities, Acadians, and Métis. Performances of the shortlisted works will be presented in June in Halifax and Lunenburg by the Eastern Horizon choir. The choir will be directed by Jack Bennet and Christina Murray, and will consist of experience, high-level choristers from across Nova Scotia.

For more details, visit www.facebook.com/choirsforchange or email choirsforchange [@] gmail . com

By NSCFMGR e-notes • Front Page • Job Postings 0 Comments

The Dartmouth Choral Society Seeks Choral Director

Seeks a Choral Director, to start September, 2018

We are searching for a director who will continue to provide enjoyable and musically challenging experiences for our members.
The Dartmouth Choral Society is a four-part, non-auditioned 60 member community choir. We are the longest continuously performing community choir in Nova Scotia, now entering our 65th year of singing and performing for the community. Throughout its history the Dartmouth Choral Society has provided an artistic opportunity for members to sing some of the great choral works from the renaissance to the contemporary.
Our choral year consists of two terms, September to December, rehearsing weekly to present a Seasonal Concert, and January to April/May culminating in a Spring Concert. The Choir may participate in other concerts/performances at the discretion of the Director.

The responsibilities of the Director include in part:
– the selection of music and liaising with the librarian to acquire music
– notifying the accompanist in advance of musical selections for each rehearsal
– conducting weekly 2 hour rehearsals
– providing musical instruction to the choir
– holding auditions as required to determine the appropriate range for a voice or to select soloists
– preparing the choir for at least two concerts per year and directing these concerts
– recommending guest performers for concerts
– consulting regularly with the President on matters of choir administration such as concert dates, venues, program content, suggested honoraria for guest performers and on choir progress.

The application deadline is 9 March. Applications should be sent electronically to the Secretary, Elinor Benjamin (elinorbenjamin@gmail.com).
For further information contact the President Art Collier (a.colllier@bellaliant.net).

By NSCFMGR e-notes • Front Page • Job Postings 0 Comments

CALL FOR SING SUMMER STAFF

JCC and YCC (August 12th to 18th)
ACC (August 20th to 26th)

https://nscf.ca/programs/sing-summer-choir-camps/

The Nova Scotia Choral Federation is preparing for Sing Summer 2018 and is looking for individuals to fill the following positions:

Artistic Staff
Adult Choir Camp Accompanist
Youth Choir Camp Accompanist
Junior Choir Camp Assistant Director
Adult and/or Youth Choir Camp Soprano Section Leader
Adult and/or Youth Choir Camp Alto Section Leader
Adult and/or Youth Choir Camp Tenor Section Leader
Adult and/or Youth Choir Camp Bass Section Leader

Camp Staff
Junior Choir Camp Director
Youth Choir Camp Chaperones
Junior Choir Camp Counsellors
Gophers (age 15 and up)

Artistic Staff Applicants and Camp Director Applicants: Please apply with a resume containing emphasis on musical experience, teaching experience, and performance experience. Please submit a cover letter along with your resume indicating which position(s) you are applying for.

Please submit all documents as a PDF to programs@nscf.ns.ca

Other Camp Staff Applicants: Please fill out the following google form in its entirety. https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLSeE-y9_bqE9ujj7C…/viewform…