Now in its fifth decade, the Toronto Chamber Choir holds a place of prominence in the early music scene. The choir distinguishes itself by its presentation of large-scale, often little-known, works of the Renaissance and Baroque repertoire, performed in authentic style. In 2007, we performed the Requiem by Francesco Cavalli, a work rarely heard in Canada. In 2010, we sang Media Vita by John Sheppard, an English composer who deserves to be heard more often.
Our Director, Mark Vuorinen, is one of Canada’s rising choral conductors, with more than ten years of experience conducting professional and amateur singers. He follows David Fallis, the choir’s “Music Director Laureate”, an expert in early music who led the choir for more than two decades.
As part of the 2009 – 2010 concert series, Mark led us through works by Scandinavian composers and also through the profound Passion Oratorio Membra Jesu Nostri by Buxtehude. In our upcoming 2010-2011 season, we look forward to exploring works by English composers and to singing the chansons and motets of Josquin.
The choir has an active education and outreach program, including a partnership with Rosedale Heights School of the Arts. Mark conducts workshops at the school, and students may be chosen for mentoring within the choir. The younger singers in the choir are often Rosedale students who have chosen to audition for us as regular members after their mentorship period. We rehearse and perform jointly with Rosedale students in school concerts, and in 2010 they joined us onstage for the first time at one of our Kaffeemusiks.
We enjoy interaction with our audiences, and like to share both musical insights and refreshments with them. At each concert, we provide background information about the works performed in order to enhance the concert experience of our audience members.
If you are interested in auditioning for the TCC, please call 416-763-1695 for information.
It was an evening of well-chosen repertoire performed with technical assurance and secure musical judgment.
— The Globe and Mail