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Founded in 1980, Choral Canada is the National Arts Service Organization for the choral and group singing arts sector and community in Canada. We are a member based organization that provides professional development, advocacy, resources, and opportunities to build connections from coast to coast to coast. Our members include conductors/leaders, educators, composers/songwriters, students, managers/administrators, choral industry leaders, choirs/singing groups, and more.
Choral Canada’s greatest strength is our membership. Membership is open to anyone interested in group singing. In 2016-17, Choral Canada produced with Hills Strategies Inc. the first-ever national choral census which found that 3.5 million Canadians sing in a choir/singing group. Choral Canada not only serves its membership, but also strives to serve the entire choral and group singing arts sector across the country. By connecting group singing communities with information, resources for professional development, and advocacy tools, Choral Canada inspires greater awareness of group singing across the nation and beyond.
Choral Canada programs include the National Youth Choir of Canada (NYCC) the NYCC Conducting Apprenticeship, Podium (Canada’s national choral conference and festival), the National Competition for Choral Writing, the National Choral Awards (under evaluation), the National Competition for Canadian Amateur Choirs (under evaluation), our Student Chapter, and the choral journal Anacrusis (published three times a year). The first Podium Conference was held in Kingston Ontario in June 1982 and the first National Youth Choir of Canada program was in 1984.
We share information and resources through our bi-weekly e-newsletters, social media, job board, webinars, online calendar, online members resource directory, and more.
Choral Canada recently adopted a new five-year Strategic Plan led by consultants Charles Smith and Erin Jones from the Cultural Pluralism Arts Movement in Ontario. It is called “Pathways to Tomorrow: Resilience, Relevance and Growth in the Choral and Group Singing Arts Sector in Canada”. This plan was developed through consultations with the choral and group singing community, including our members. This included interviews, focus groups, surveys, and environmental scans of similar national/international organizations. We are on a transformational journey over the next five years and look forward to building new relationships, offering relevant programming, and advocating for group singing across the country.
