Who is Cantala?
Now in its 19th season, Cantala is an award winning treble choir in the Toronto choral community. We are raving mad about choral music, singing together and making an experience that is both inspiring, moving and uplifting for both singer and audience member. We are committed to performing diverse choral music at the highest level. Cantala is a musical home for those who have a passion for achieving choral excellence. One of our missions is to provide an equitable, inclusive and diverse musical experience. As part of this vision we have a program of mentorship for those that have little musical reading or formal musical experience. While we have one spot available per year for this initiative, we are excited to be able to support all people who love to sing and want to be a part of a vibrant choral experience. Contact (email info@cantalachoir.com) Cantala for an audition today.
Which awards has Cantala won?
Cantala has most recently won two first place finishes in the Ontario Provincial Choir Competition in Spring 2026. Cantala has received platinum and gold ratings at the Toronto Kiwanis and Peel music festivals since 2013. They have also been awarded the Etobicoke Centennial scholarship and the John Bird Memorial Award. In 2013 and 2017, Cantala placed Second at the Ontario Provincial Choral Competition and in 2015 received Honourable mention. It has been an honour to have attended the choral art workshop program at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in January 2020.
What does 2026-2027 hold for us next?
We are looking forward to presenting another concert in the Four Season’s Free Concert Series again this fall. This time they have invited us to perform at the Festival of lights concert at Todmorten Mills on Thursday November 19th, 2026. We will follow this with our own seasonal concert on December 12th, 2026.
The winter session will see us embark on recording the Lost Words: A Spell Book. This is a 75 minute work performed with a small orchestra. It features words that have been taken out of the Oxford dictionary. All pieces are composed by Canadian composers. It develops our expressive singing abilities as well as our musicianship.
Other plans are in the works and will be updated as they become confirmed.
Who sings with Cantala?
The Choir is made up from people from all different walks of life and various levels of choral singing and musical experience.
The Cantala singer:
Loves to sing and desires to be a part of an award winning choral group.
Sings in the treble tessitura.
Works on their music outside of rehearsal time on a regular, weekly basis with the provided part recordings.
Performs with music and in uniform (options include our dress or pant suit)
Is eager to learn in a fun, friendly atmosphere but also expects, and strives for, excellence.
Who leads Cantala?
Nancy Singla brings a unique approach and knowledge to choral singing. In addition to the importance of understanding and teaching how to sing, she believes in encouraging and helping the development of the soloist within the choral sound. She holds her masters degree in choral conducting from the University of Toronto and Masters of Teaching from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE/UofT).
What makes Cantala unique?
Carefully chosen choral repertoire with harmonic richness and surprise, melodic beauty and meaningful poetry which touches upon secular and sacred texts, makes singing in Cantala an inspirational and uplifting musical experience. Cantala strives for exceptional choral music making and its singers are rewarded with a moving choral music experience while having the support of a likeminded singing community.
What is the time commitment to join Cantala?
Cantala meets once per week on Monday's for 2 hours (7-9pm) at Forest Hill United church, Toronto. The church is located at Bathurst and Eglinton and is accessible by TTC and the Eglinton Light rail line. We have a saturday workshop on the third saturday of every month from 9-12pm (not mandatory). There are two major concerts per year and small community performances. There is an understanding that you will not miss more than three rehearsals per term. Regular attendance, practise between rehearsals and a strong commitment is expected.