We are truly lucky to have such a diverse cultural landscape in Canada. From the Indigenous peoples, to the settlers and now immigrants from every part of the globe, Canada is a place where there is such variety in our food, entertainment and social circles that one cannot but rejoice and celebrate Canada.
Do you ever think about death? I do. Death was an underlying theme at the concert this past December 2nd. It was a powerful night of wonder.
We are looking forward to welcoming you to our upcoming recitals. We are featuring brand new works that are looking forward to their world premiere. As we are entering our final rehearsals with this challenging program the excitement is growing at Cantala.
What do you do to keep your mental health where you want it to be? How do you get out of a rut when you’re feeling down? I have good news! Read on.
Merry Christmas Cantala Community! Dancing Day is now being streamed on all major online music providers. Enjoy and have a safe holiday season!
Start thinking about JOY again! We can see the light….hear the echo…..
Cantala is off to Banff Alberta this February 14-17th, 2020 to attend a choral Art weekend at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. We will be working with Michael Zaugg (Montreal, Canada) and Pro Coro Canada (Edmonton, Canada), Lone Larsen (Sweden), Sven Helbig (Germany) in a weekend of exploration and camaraderie.
The excitement of the holiday season is here and now. Take a moment and see what your next musical Cantala project will entail. It's going to be a party and I'm uber excited...
I've recently discovered a lesser-known work by Britten, A Boy is Born; a very demanding unaccompanied choral work for mixed choir. But lucky for us, the 5th movement In The Bleak Midwinter, is only for treble voices and Cantala is set to perform it in concert on December 8, 2018.
Years ago I had a very experienced choral singer come up to me in Cantala and tell me that I spend a lot of time on warming up and inquired "isn't there an urgency to get to rehearsing the repertoire?".
I've recently discovered a lesser-known work by Britten, A Boy is Born; a very demanding unaccompanied choral work for mixed choir. But lucky for us, the 5th movement In The Bleak Midwinter, is only for treble voices and Cantala is set to perform it in concert on December 9th, 2017, Toronto.
Everyone remembers those school group projects that made you either pull your hair out or jump for joy. Here are 7 tips to being that A+ team player.
Last year I wrote about some quick tips on how to audition for Cantala. Here 11 more tips on making the most of your voice and musical talent in the audition for Cantala, Part 2.
Everyone seems to come to choir exhausted. It’s the end of their work day and while I know they are looking forward to creating music, their sense of listening and often also their vocal apparatus are fatigued. They are ready for the couch and some tv, but you are asking them to get up, smile and sparkle. Warming up the choir is an important transition from tired work day to musical brilliance.
One time I was asked if vowels were important in singing. I replied “vowels are like green vegetables in our diets: they are essential!”. This may seem obvious, but it’s important to understand the role vowels have in singing and how they are produced.
The gold standard of remarkable choral sound is unified sound. No one would dispute that. However, how to achieve this goal is not unified among conductors.
It has been a few years since I first heard the women of the Vancouver Chamber Choir sing “Lu-Li-Lo-La”, the final piece in R. Murray Schafer’s work “The Enchanted Forest” but it made a lasting impression on me.
My musical journey with Cantala began rather inauspiciously. With only two singing lessons under my belt, I arrived to a choir practice surrounded by trained and talented vocalists with university degrees in music.
Over the years I have had a blast finding new choral pieces to sing with Cantala. My top 3 picks of all time from the past 8 years are full of poetry, great harmony and fabulous melodies the choir has sung so beautifully and to great acclaim in competitive festivals.