Come and rediscover the magic of the natural world with Cantala during our winter seasonal concert, Saturday December 7th at 7pm. It will feature parts from a larger work called Lost words: A Spell book, which features one poet (Robert Macfarlane), ten composers (many of our Canadian favorites!) and twenty choral compositions.
We finished up our spring recording project this past week. The piece titled Lullaby, is a musical audioscape by Toronto composer James Rolfe. Listen to our recording below.
Cantala’s seasonal concert is one month away! We are excited to share with you works by Quartel, Geilo and Schubert. A magical experiences awaits….
If you would have told me last March 9th that this would be Cantala’s last rehearsal for an undetermined amount of time… I would have been shocked.
For the first two weeks of March, Cantala was immersed in the world of theater and it was a fantastic experience. The play we were performing in was called “The Events” by David Grieg, music by John Browne and directed by Alan Dillworth, the artistic director of Necessary Angel Theatre Company.
Every year I receive many scores from composers near and far asking Cantala to consider learning and performing their music. So I decided to add on a spring project every year into Cantala’s season where we will workshop and record this music for these composers. It is exciting work and we are thrilled to do it.
Every year I tell Cantala that they are the closest I’ll ever get to driving a Mercedes Benz but this year I have upgraded them to a Tesla….
This past January I took out my score of Francis Poulenc’s Petite Voix,: 5 Choeurs faciles pour 3 voix d’enfants to prep for rehearsal. I quickly started feeling regret for picking such a dissonant, difficult piece. Would we survive? Surprise! This is the story of how the piece entered our hearts and dug a bore for life.
It is always very special to share music making with collaborators. We have two special artists that will be joining us for our coming Christmas Concert, A Ceremony of Carols tomorrow night, 7pm, in Toronto. Come and join us!
The Cantala Women’s Choir is excited to perform next month their favourite seasonal work, the gorgeous, masterful choral piece, A Ceremony of Carols by Benjamin Britten.
This is a guest post from choir director Chris Rowbury. He has a website called From the Front of the choir where he muses about all sorts of choral related topics. Here we discuss the pros and cons of rehearsing in a circle; something Cantala loves to do.
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?".
One can always add another reason to join Cantala. If you already sing in Cantala, then someday, by passion, perseverance, hard work and a little bit of luck, you may get the chance to sing again at Lincoln Centre in New York City, under the direction of one, Eric Whitacre, famous conductor and composer. Guest post by a passionate Cantala choral member.
The final concert of our 10th Season is quickly approaching and we are celebrating in many ways, including performing Rachmaninoff’s Six Choruses for Treble voices, op. 15; a special gem from the Women’s choral literature in May.
Enthusiastic singers can be nervous about sight reading. Sight reading takes practice. Read here how to build these skills.
The way in which we prepare our bodies and breathe to sing greatly influences the quality of the sound that is produced afterward. It starts prior to the intake of the breath and the shaping of the vocal track.
The winter concert will take place on Saturday, December 9, 2017 in the beautiful space of St. Anne’s Anglican Church located at 270 Gladstone Ave, Toronto. We will be preparing 47 minutes of music starting on Monday August 28th, 2017 at Forest Hill United Church from 645-845pm.
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.
I never would have dreamed 10 years ago when I founded the Cantala Women’s Choir that I would take my choir to New York city for a musical adventure, but it’s becoming a reality.
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.
These are interesting times, we can probably all agree on that. There is always some spectacle to talk about at work, the bus stop, or in the grocery store lineup.
Have you ever been told to “support” your voice? The idea and description of “breath support” can be a confusing one. Read on to learn more.
I love kaleidoscopes. There is something remarkable and simple about them. For me, choral music is much the same.