World Youth Choir Auditions
The World Youth Choir is seeking singers! Audition by December 15, 2019
To learn more, visit their website
Survey on the Halifax Arts Community
From Strategic Arts Management: 
Hello,
You are invited to take part in a research study being conducted by Dalhousie graduate students working on a project to help Strategic Arts Management (SAM) better provide management and career resources to the arts community of Halifax.
As a participant, you will be asked to anonymously answer 15 questions in a survey. Your participation in this research is entirely voluntary. At any time, you reserve the right to skip questions, or to stop the survey entirely. The information you provide will be anonymous and will be kept private at all times. When we share our project findings in the resulting reports, we will speak in terms of overall perceptions so that it is impossible for an individual to be identified. By submitting the survey, you consent to the anonymous use of your answers and quotes for the purpose of research by the Dalhousie Graduate-Student Research Team.
This study is being conducted according to the ethical standards of Dalhousie University.
The survey can be found here: https://surveys.dal.ca/
If you have any questions about the survey, SAM, or the Dalhousie research team, please contact us! We are happy to receive all questions at jl883690@dal.ca
Thank you very much for your time.
Sincerely,
The Strategic Arts Management: Dalhousie Research Team
(Trevor, Julietta, Jason, Erin, Hala)
National Choral Writing Competition – Due Nov 1, 2019
Last Chance: National Choral Writing Competition
Due Nov 1, 2019
From Choral Canada:
The 2020 competition includes two categories:
1. The Diane Loomer Award , sponsored by Cypress Choral Music – open to any Canadian choral composer
2. The new Stephen Chatman Award, sponsored by the UBC School of Music and UBC Choirs – open to any Canadian undergraduate or graduate student choral composer
The competition will be judged by a national jury of Canadian choral conductors and composers. All competing composers will receive constructive written feedback from a juror. The jury may select up to three honorable mentions per category.
The winner of the 2020 Diane Loomer Award will receive:
- the Diane Loomer Award of $1500
- a publishing opportunity through Cypress Choral Music
- a premiere performance by the 2020 National Youth Choir of Canada, conducted by Jean-Sébastien Vallée, on tour and at PODIUM 2020 – national choral conference & festival in Montréal, QC
- a feature article about the composer in Choral Canada’s national choral journal Anacrusis
- promotion on Choral Canada’s website and social media
The winner of the 2020 Stephen Chatman Student Award will receive:
- the Stephen Chatman Award of $500
- a premiere performance by a university choir
- complimentary student membership with Choral Canada (valid until September 30, 2020)
- a feature article about the composer in Choral Canada’s national choral journal Anacrusis
- promotion on Choral Canada’s website and social media
Aeolian Singers 2019-20 Season Opens In Good Company
(from The Aeolian Singers) The Aeolian Singers (www.aeoliansingers.ca
The season opens with concerts (In Good Company) in Dartmouth (Grace United) and Upper Tantallon (St. Luke’s United) presenting music ranging from Henry VIII to Jane Siberry. The program takes in the world of the Renaissance and Baroque, moving to modern takes on ancient texts, with glorious choral writing by contemporary Canadian female composers like Kelly Marie Murphy, Marie Claire Saindon and Laura Hawley. They’ll even throw in a pub song of two. The concerts take place on Saturday, November 23 at 7:30 p.m. at Grace United Church, Dartmouth and on Sunday, November 24 at 4:00 p.m. at St. Luke’s United Church, Upper Tantallon.
Collaborative pianist Mary Castello will be joining the Aeolians for the fall term. Staff accompanist for the School of Music at Acadia University, Mary also has an active freelance schedule, working with local soloists, Scotia Festival, Halifax Summer Opera Festival and the Nova Scotia Choral Federation. She holds an MMus in Collaborative Piano Performance from McGill University and an Associate Diploma in Piano Pedagogy from Conservatory Canada.
On March 7, 2020 at 7:30 p.m., the choir performs This We Know at Wolfville Baptist Church with the Manning Chapel Choir and the Annapolis Valley Honour Choir. Advance tickets are available form www.avhc.ca.
The April 25 DCCA concert (Veritas) grapples with the complex world of shadow and light, the seen and unseen, and the manipulation of what is “real.” Artistic Director Heather Fraser commented: “We’re excited to bring our Veritas program to Dartmouth Community Concert audiences. A timely commentary on our society, the texts and music explore deception and doubt, and celebrates the pursuit of knowledge, wisdom and truth. A cornerstone of the program is Paul Halley’s Untraveled Worlds with Tennyson’s hopeful and invigorating text at this concert.”
Veritas will be repeated on June 7 with three additional commissioned works to be created by Canadian women composers. The choir is planning to workshop these new pieces with other female singers and work with local composers in attached workshops.
Tickets are available for the Aeolians’ concerts from choir members and at the door. You can also purchase them online from the choir’s website – www.aeoliansingers.ca. All tickets are $20 regular and $10 for students.
Heather Fraser, who was appointed as Artistic Director commencing in 2017-18 is a native Nova Scotian who is immersed in the contemporary choral music world. During the 2016-17 season she undertook a self-directed intensive study period with top choral conductors in the US and Canada. She is also currently Artistic Director of the award-winning Annapolis Valley Honour Choirs, and a choral specialist and accompanist with the Halifax Regional Centre for Education.
Now in their 44th season, the Aeolian Singers (www.aeoliansingers.ca
Podium 2020 Early Bird Registration December 1, 2019
Early Bird Rate (November 1 – December 1, 2019)
Delegate or Presenter
$471.40 ($410 + $40.90 QST + $20.50 GST)
Advance Rate (December 2, 2019 – February 1, 2020)
Delegate or Presenter
$534.63 ($465 + $46.38 QST + $23.25 GST)
Regular Rate (February 2 – May 15, 2020)
Delegate or Presenter
$586.37 ($510 + $50.87 QST + $25.50 GST)
Student Delegate or Presenter (November 1, 2019 – May 15, 2020)
$320.78 ($279 + $27.83 QST + $13.95 GST)
Retiree and Lifetime Member (November 1, 2019 – May 15, 2020)
$471.40 ($410 + $40.90 QST + $20.5 GST)
University Group registration per delegate (November 1, 2019 – May 15, 2020)
$304.68 ($265 + $26.43 QST + $13.25 GST)
($265/person, minimum 4 people or 3 people+1 professor)
Other Registration Rates
Participating Choir Group registration (per chorister) (November 1, 2019 – May 15, 2020)
$74.73 ($65 + 6.48 QST + 3.25 GST)
($65/chorister, for conference only – minimum 5 people participating at PODIUM)
Aeolians Singers are seeking a Choir Part-time Communications/Business Manager (Contract Position)
The Aeolian Singers is a community-based, auditioned women’s choir in Halifax, Nova Scotia. We are celebrating our 44th season with our mission to present high quality, interesting choral programs, partnering with other artists and arts organizations in the region.
We are seeking a dynamic, enthusiastic individual to serve as our communications/business manager who will report to the President of the choir executive and work very closely with the Artistic Director to help bring about the Choir’s vision. This is a permanent part-time contract with a three-month probationary period.
The major responsibilities of the role listed here Aeolians Business Manager Job Posting. For a full job description please contact the Choir President, Lara Dempster, at ldempster48@gmail.com
Tenor Section Lead
St. Andrew’s United Church, corner of Coburg and Robie has an immediate opening for a tenor section lead. This will be a supplemental position between now and Christmas, with the opportunity to become permanent in January. The immediate need is for a strong reader and leader in the section for a performance of Randall Thompson’s Peaceable Kingdom on Sunday Nov 10.
Excellent remuneration based on per call attendance. Contact Kevin Parks, Minister of Music at joyfulnoise@eastlink.ca or 902-221-1597
Chronos Vocal Ensemble Choral Competition
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.
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/
Chronos Music Society, c/o 10615 137 St Edmonton AB T5N2H5.
Charity registration # 820201788RR0001.
Announcing NSYC Guest Conductor 2020 – Christina Murray!
We are so pleased to announce the Guest Conductor of the Nova Scotia Youth Choir’s 2020 season: local talent Christina Murray.
You may know Christina as the artistic director of Xara Choral Theatre Ensemble and head of choral studies at Dalhousie University. She approaches her conducting practice through the voice and is known for her innovative programming and her visionary commitment to decolonizing the choral art form.
Christina holds an honours undergraduate degree in music (voice/conducting) and philosophy from Mount Allison University, has done graduate work in feminist liturgical practices, and has subsequently studied conducting with Diane Loomer, Jon Washburn, Michael Zaugg, and Elise Bradley. Also an active and accomplished choral singer, she has frequently sung with the Canadian Chamber Choir since 2007.
As both a former NSYC and National Youth Choir Singer herself, as well as a two-time Resident Conductor of NSYC, Christina is delighted to to be helming NSYC for it’s 30th Anniversary season.
Dr. Susan Brumfield to Lead CCNS 2020!
Dr. Susan Brumfield is the founder and Artistic Director of The West Texas Children’s Chorus. She holds a Ph.D. in Music Education from the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Brumfield is known for her work as a teacher, author, composer and conductor. In frequent demand as a commissioned composer, clinician and guest conductor, she recently conducted the 2018 ACDA Eastern Division Children’s Honor Choir, and joins the artistic staff of the Pacific International Choral Festival this summer as conductor of the 2019 Treble Choral Festival Choir.
An internationally recognized expert in the Kodály approach, Dr. Brumfield is the author of First, We Sing! Kodály-Inspired Teaching in the Music Classroom, a series of textbooks and song anthologies published by Hal Leonard Music. Dr. Brumfield’s other publications include Hot Peas and Barley-O: Children’s Songs and Games from Scotland, Over the Garden Wall: Children’s Songs and Games from England, and Kentucky Mother Goose, co-authored with American folk legend Jean Ritchie She is currently working on Giro Giro Tondo: Children’s Songs and Games from Italy. Dr. Brumfield is a contributing author for Music Express Magazine and McGraw Hill’s Music Studio.
Dr. Brumfield was honored in both 2012 and 2014 with the Texas Tech University College of Visual and Performing Arts Award for Outstanding Research, and as a two-time finalist for the President’s Book Award. She is the 2019 recipient of the prestigious Barnie E. Rushing Jr. Award for Research at Texas Tech University.
