Cantala 101-The Audition
Who is Cantala?
Now in its 17th 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 will be starting a new program of mentorship for those that have little musical reading or formal musical experience. While we have limited spots available 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.
Photo credit: Joanne Schwindt Photography
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 like-minded singing community.
What is the time commitment to join Cantala?
Cantala meets once per week on Monday's for approximately 1.5-2 hours (7-9pm) at Forest Hill United church, Toronto. The church is located at Bathurst and Eglinton and is accessible by TTC. We regularly perform two major concerts per year. We dedicate extra time to record our music for album release and also do small community appearances when the opportunity arises. Sometimes we travel and perform.
What does the future hold for us?
We are looking forward to presenting our solo concert at Carnegie Hall, NYC on Friday April 11th, 2025 and releasing our next ablum in December of 2024 titles SongBird. We will be enjoying a Fall choral retreat day on September 28th in Toronto where we will spend the day singing, socializing and getting to know eachother through many different activites. We are looking forward to reaching out to our community with a performance at a hospice in West Toronto. We are always seeking neat places that are fun to perform in-such as the Aha Khan museum, the ROM…or any other hidden gems (outside bridges, tunnels, art works, random objects) around the city that are outside (inside too!), resonant and would be satisfying to sing in.
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.
Photo credit: Joanne Schwindt Photography
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).
Nancy Singla, Founder and Artistic Director. Photo Credit: Joanne Schwindt Photography
Which awards has Cantala won (for those who like competition…)?
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 an audition look like?
You are invited to pick a song you love to sing. It can be any genre (type) of piece-pop, broadway, classical, sacred, secular, jazz-any type you like. It is important that you sing something you love.
We talk about how you came to know about Cantala, your musical background, your experience singing in choirs, how comfortable you feel reading the musical score and what part you like to sing (Soprano 1 or 2), Alto (1 or 2).
We may discuss the opportunity for you to join the mentorship program is that is an appropriate step for you.
You will have to wait to know if you are accepted into the choir. If you are, you will be invited to think about the commitment, cost and review the dates of performances coming up.
It should be a joyful, positive experience. It is a pleasure that you have reached out-so let’s audition today!