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National Competition for Canadian Amateur Choirs
The National Competition for Canadian Amateur Choirs inspires choirs to strive for excellence, provides visibility for amateur choirs of all ages, and encourages the creation and performance of Canadian works.
The Competition is open to all Canadian amateur choirs and attracts diverse participants from coast to coast. The finalists and winners are selected by a national jury of esteemed Canadian choral conductors. The prestigious Canada Council for the Arts Healey Willan Grand Prize is awarded to the finest overall performance in musicianship, technique, and program. Each choir that enters the Competition must perform an original Canadian piece and prizes are given for the Best Performance of a Canadian Work and the Best Performance of a French Canadian Work. Cash prizes are awarded for the top performances in each category. The national jury may also award special accolades to outstanding choirs.
Winners of the 2019 National Competition for Canadian Amateur Choirs!
Thank you to all who entered the competition and congratulations to all the winners! The winner of the Canada Council for the Arts Healey-Willan Prize is Vancouver Cantata Singers, directed by Paula Kremer from Vancouver, BC!
Category 1 - Children's Choirs
First Prize - Bach Children's Chorus (Toronto, ON)
Category 2 - Upper-Voice Youth Choirs
First Prize - Raise Her Voice Chamber Choir (Oakville, ON)
Second Prize - Cantilon Chamber Choir (Edmonton, AB)
Category 3 - Lower-Voice Youth Choirs
First Prize - Amabile Young Men's Ensemble (London, ON)
Category 4 - Mixed-Voice Youth Choirs
First Prize - Edmonton Youth Choir (Edmonton, AB)
Second Prize - Amabile Chamber Choir (London, ON)
Category 5 - Collegiate Choirs
Frist Prize - Schulich Singers - McGill University (Montréal, QC)
Second Prize - Gryphon Singers - University of Guelph (Guelph, ON)
Category 6 - Mixed-Voice Adult Choirs
First Prize - Vancouver Cantata Singers (Vancouver, BC)
Second Prize - Capital Chamber Choir (Ottawa, ON)
Category 7 - Mixed-Voice Adult Chamber Choirs
First Prize - Exultate Chamber Singers (Toronto, ON)
Second Prize - Prairie Chamber Choir (Regina, SK)
Category 8 - Equal-Voice Men's Choirs
First Prize - Ensemble Phœbus (Montréal, QC)
Second Prize - Newman Sound Men's Choir (St. John's, NL)
Category 9 - Equal-Voice Women's Choirs
First Prize - Chœur Adleisia (Montréal, QC)
Second Prize - Ensemble Gaïa (Montréal, QC)
Category 10 - Pan-Cultural / Traditional Folk Music
First Prize - Kappella Kyrie Slavic Chamber Choir (Edmonton, AB)
Second Prize - Chœur Baobab (Montréal, QC)
Category 11 - Contemporary Music
First Prize - Eastern Horizon Chamber Choir (Halifax, NS)
Second Prize - Vancouver Cantata Singers (Vancouver, BC)
Best Performance of a Canadian Work
Vancouver Cantata Singers (Vancouver, QC)
for their performance of Axis Mundi by Craig Galbraith
Best Performance of a French Canadian Work - Centre d'excellence artistique de l'Ontario Prize
Chœur Adleisia (Montréal, QC)
for their performance of Terre-Neuve by Marie-Claire Saindon
Healey-Willan Grand Prize
Vancouver Cantata Singers (Vancouver, BC)
Click HERE to see the FULL LIST of winners, honorable mentions and accolades!
Announcing our 2019 Finalists!
Thank you to all choirs who entered the competition! A jury of esteemed Canadian choral conductors (names will be posted on the Choral Canada website at the end of June) recently met to review the Competition entries and select finalists among a highly competitive pool of applicants.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE LIST OF 2019 FINALISTS
Listen to the National Finalists
Click on the choir's name to go to their SoundCloud page and listen to their competition recordings.
Category 1 - Children's Choirs
Bach Children's Chorus (Toronto, ON)
Category 2 - Upper-Voice Youth Choirs
Cantemus (Winnipeg, MB)
Cantilon Chamber Choir (Edmonton, AB)
Raise Her Voice Chamber Choir (Oakville, ON)
Category 3 - Lower-Voice Youth Choirs
Amabile Young Men's Ensemble (London, ON)
Category 4 - Mixed-Voice Youth Choirs
Amabile Chamber Choir (London, ON)
Edmonton Youth Choir (Edmonton, AB)
Quintessential Vocal Ensemble - Aquae (St. John's, NL)
Category 5 - Collegiate Choirs
Gryphon Singers - University of Guelph (Guelph, ON)
Schulich Singers - McGill University (Montréal, QC)
Western University Singers - Western University (London, ON)
Category 6 - Mixed-Voice Adult Choirs
Capital Chamber Choir (Ottawa, ON)
Chœur du Plateau (Montréal, QC)
Vancouver Cantata Singers (Vancouver, BC)
Category 7 - Mixed-Voice Adult Chamber Choirs
Ensemble vocal Sainte-Anne Singers (Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC)
Exultate Chamber Singers (Toronto, ON)
Prairie Chamber Choir (Regina, SK)
Category 8 - Equal-Voice Men's Choirs
Ensemble Phœbus (Montréal, QC)
Newman Sound Men's Choir (St. John's, NL)
Category 9 - Equal-Voice Women's Choirs
Chœur Adleisia (Montréal, QC)
Ensemble Gaïa (Montréal, QC)
Ventus Women's Choir (Lethbridge, AB)
Category 10 - Pan-Cultural / Traditional Folk Music
Chœur Baobab (Montréal, QC)
Kappella Kyrie Slavic Chamber Choir (Edmonton, AB)
Choral Canada congratulates the winners of the 2015 National Competition for Canadian Amateur Choirs! The Healey Willan Grand Prize was awarded to Chronos Vocal Ensemble from Edmonton, Alberta.
A treasured Canadian choral tradition, the National Competition for Canadian Amateur Choirs inspires choirs to strive for excellence, provides visibility for amateur choirs of all ages, and encourages the creation and performance of Canadian works. The Competition is open to all Canadian amateur choirs and attracts diverse participants from coast to coast. The 2015 Competition winners were selected by a national jury of esteemed Canadian choral conductors, consisting of Douglas Dunsmore, Christopher Jackson, Marta McCarthy, Morna Edmundson, and Elroy Friesen.
The prestigious Canada Council for the Arts Healey Willan Grand Prize, for the finest overall performance in musicianship, technique, and program, was awarded to the Chronos Chamber Ensemble, from Edmonton, AB, conducted by Jordan van Biert. Chronos Vocal Ensemble also took first prize in Category 6 (Mixed-Voice Adult Choir).
Each choir that enters the Competition must perform an original Canadian piece. The prize for the Best Performance of a Canadian Work in any category was awarded to Phoenix Chamber Choir, from Vancouver, BC conducted by Graeme Langager, for their performance of Gaudium vestrum sit plenum, by Graeme Langager. Phoenix Chamber Choir was also awarded first prize in Category 11 (Contemporary Music).
Cash prizes were also awarded for the top performances in each category.
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