Our Pandemic Pivot
It’s safe to say, 2020 was not what we expected! We continue to face the challenges posed by Covid-19 on our sector, but have been uplifted and inspired by our community to innovate and stay connected with each other and with our audience. Here are some of the activities we’ve been pursuing while unable to meet in person.
I Was Sad: A Quarantine Parry-dy
Like so many choirs around the country, the Amadeus Choir is more than a performing ensemble: we’re a community of folks who stick together through the ups, the downs, and the global pandemics of life. When rehearsals ground to a halt last spring, we searched for ways to keep on keeping on, whether by sharing new recipes, attending rowdy Zoom rehearsals, or making silly isolation videos like this. We hope you enjoy this quarantine “Parry-dy” — a throwback to the early days of the pandemic that proves choral singers can find the humour in anything!
Robert DiVito, Society Of Sound, mix engineer
Benton Roark, video
Generously supported by the Betty and Joe Gray Family Foundation
Canada’s Passion
Ask any Canadian to name our national passion, and 9 out of 10 will say it’s hockey. However, the surprising truth is that more Canadians sing in choirs than play hockey. Choral music is something we as a nation are passionate about - and yet this very fact remains outside of our collective consciousness. The Amadeus Choir has a chance to leverage this idea during this Covid-19 shutdown time. In doing so, we can remind our choristers, audience, donors, grantors, and the general public how important choral singing is to Canadians. More importantly, we can let them know that the Amadeus Choir - and the choral community in general - will be back singing, stronger than ever, as soon as it is safe to do so.
The Chorus Effect
Our live interview series has continued this fall with two incredible leaders in choral music: Mari Esabel Valverde and Tracy Wong. You can watch both full episodes on our YouTube channel!
Mari Esabel Valverde (b. 1987) is an award-winning composer and singer in steady demand across the United States and Canada. Based in North Texas, she sings in multiple professional ensembles and teaches singing and transgender voice training with TruVoice Lessons. She holds degrees from St. Olaf College, the European American Musical Alliance in Paris, France, and San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Dr. Tracy Wong hails from Malaysia and is a choral conductor, music educator, vocalist, pianist, and composer currently residing in Toronto, Canada. Tracy has conducted workshops for choirs in North America, Malaysia, Brunei, France, and Portugal and her works have been performed by choirs around the world.
Digital Commission: Home Comfort Advisor
We are working with composer and digital media artist Eliot Britton to create an interactive, online, experiential choral work. He has been collecting recorded fragments from Amadeus members and will assemble the piece into a full online audio-visual experience!
Songwalks Podcast
Join the Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto for Songwalks: Choral music for your daily journey. Each episode is designed to accompany your walk through the city or countryside, at dawn or at dusk. They are the perfect way to let your imagination loose as you move through the world around you. You will hear music by composers throughout the ages recorded by the Amadeus Choir, and spoken word poetry by leading Canadian writers, as well as members of the Amadeus Choir.
Choral Skills Bootcamp
Our Choral Skills Bootcamp drew dozens of choral singers from across the country to join our ranks for one hour of musical drills every Tuesday for twelve weeks. We loved welcoming these folks to our community and getting to know new people despite being so far apart! Our artistic team, section leads and Emerging Canadian Voices led small groups of participants in seven different levels over two modules: Part 1: Theory/Sight-Singing/Ear-Training and Part 2: Vocal Technique/Diction.
“Many thanks for a challenging and innovative program! There's always something more to learn in striving for the best we can be!”
“I have been enjoying being part of this experience and really miss singing with choirs during this COVID time. Thank you for offering this online event!”
“I will certainly do this again!”
Conductors Workshop
Our first ever 100% virtual workshop for conductors was a huge success! Six participants from across the country (Vancouver, Winnipeg, Hamilton, Toronto, and Montreal) gathered virtually for a weekend in November to work on conducting gesture, score study, programming, and leadership. Guest speakers Jean-Sébastien Vallée and Bramwell Tovey provided two inspiring and informative keynote sessions. Each participant received a private conducting lesson with Artistic Director, Kathleen Allan. Auditors were also welcome to attend the workshop sessions, and we were thrilled to welcome over 30 auditors to the program!