National Youth Choir 2008, Dr. Julian Wachner, Conductor
(Photo by Malcolm Macpherson)
Every two years, singers between the ages of
18 and 25 are auditioned across the country to form the
National Youth Choir. Initiated in 1984, the choir has won
critical acclaim across Canada since its inception. Some of
the finest Canadian choral conductors have been invited to
conduct the choir. The NYC has performed at all Podium
conferences since 1984 and at the 1993 World Symposium on
Choral Music in Vancouver. NYC concerts have been broadcast
nationally on the CBC Stereo Network.
The National Youth Choir has been under the direction of
John Standing (1984), Jon Washburn (1986), Wayne Riddell
(1988), James Fankhauser (1990), Elmer Iseler (1992), Diane
Loomer (1994), Robert Cooper (1996), Iwan Edwards (1998),
Leonard Ratzlaff (2000), Lydia Adams (2002), Kathryn Laurin
(2004), and Richard Sparks (2006). The 2008 NYC under the
direction of Dr. Julian Wachner was in residency in Truro,
Nova Scotia and Sackville, New Brunswick from May 4 - 18.
NYC 2010 will take place in Saskatchewan under the
direction of Dr. Victoria Meredith.
Dr. Meredith's research interests lie in the areas of choral repertoire, rehearsal techniques, the adult choral singer, and choral music in Canada. She has produced numerous critical performing editions of renaissance and baroque choral compositions which have been published and recorded by Neil A. Kjos Publisher. Her articles on a variety of topics of interest to choral musicians and educators have appeared in the Choral Journal, Anacrusis, the Canadian Music Educator, the Music Educators Journal and other professional journals. Her book, Sing Better As You Age (Santa Barbara Music Publishing, 2007) received the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors’ 2008 National Choral Award for Outstanding Choral Publication. Since 2006, Dr. Meredith has conducted the UWO choralconnections Adult Choir Program, which she designed for adult choral singers who are interested in combining vocal technique and choral rehearsal.
Victoria Meredith is a former president of the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors and served for six years as a member of the editorial board of the Choral Journal. She frequently serves as a jury panelist for arts organizations such as the Canada Council and the Ontario Arts Council and maintains an active career as a guest conductor, workshop clinician, and adjudicator. She has guest-conducted choirs across Canada and in the United States including the 1997 Ontario Youth Choir (CBC Choral Competition first-prize winners), the 1998 New Brunswick Youth Choir, the New Brunswick Spring Choral Fest 1999 and 2007, the 2001 Nova Scotia Youth Choir Camp, the 2002 Nova Scotia Youth Choir, the 2003 Pennsylvania Honor Choir, and the 2005 Nova Scotia Choral Federation’s Adult Choir Camp. Recent engagements have taken her to British Columbia, Alberta, Nova Scotia, PEI, New Brunswick, Trinidad, and Minnesota.
National Youth Choir 2008 in performance at First United
Church, Truro, Nova Scotia
(Photo by Malcolm Macpherson)
Four singers from each province will be
selected to form the NYC.
For information on auditioning and costs, contact your
provincial federation or e-mail Christina Murray, Executive
Director, at exec.director@choralcanada.org
Keep up to date with what’s going on by joining the NYC
2010 facebook group and/or following the NYC 2010 blog (you
don’t need a membership or anything to follow the blog).
FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/pages/National-Youth-Choir-of-Canada-2010/241059791594
BLOG: http://nationalyouthchoir.vox.com
Highlights from the 1988, 1990 and 1992 editions of the NYC
are available on CD from ACCC at a cost of $18 per CD
(postage and handling included).
The Association of Canadian Choral Communities also
sponsors the National Youth Choir Conducting Apprenticeship
Program.