On a summer evening, while searching on Google for Bass tabs/Wes Montgomery/Cantaloupe Island, Rachel Shaw found Cantala in what could be dramatically described as a torrent of serendipitous fate.

This is the first time in 20+ years that I haven’t had a jam packed, stressful, busy, over the top musical calendar. I usually find myself running to watching a performance of the Nutcracker, then running downtown to take in the kids’ symphony Christmas concert, then singing a Messiah performance here or there, and of course keeping up with my own performance schedule: Church services and choral concerts.

Last year I hit bottom….that is, the bottom of my living room floor with a heavy heap of music scores in my arms that kept landing in my mailbox. I was stunned that I was receiving music from across the continent. How incredibly exciting!

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...

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.

Enthusiastic singers can be nervous about sight reading. Sight reading takes practice. Read here how to build these skills. 

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. 

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.

If you have ever come to a rehearsal feeling exhausted and grumpy you know that choir can change all that around....

I knew every word, every note, every phrase of the lineup for Cantala's 2016 spring concert Vestiges. 

In Cantala practising the music at home between rehearsals in not only expected, but keeps you up with the pace of learning in the choir and increases your own musical enjoyment. So how does one rehearse on their own? Here are my tips for successfully learning the music at home. 

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.  

Here I find myself again at another ACCC choral conference, this time on the East Coast of Canada, front row, on the first concert night being dished out the most amazing choral dessert ever: Joby Talbot’s Path of Miracles: Santiago sung by Edmonton’s Pro Coro choir with Michael Zaugg conducting.