Here is my review of the Toronto Children's Chorus, based in Toronto, Ontario. It's conducted by Elise Bradley, who has been the director for the last 8 years. You can visit their website at www.torontochildrenschorus.com



Here is the handout that I passed out when I did my presentation. It has a few things that I didn't include in the presentation so I recommend having a quick look through it!

Toronto Children’s Chorus

- Founded in 1978 by Jean Ashworth Bartle at the request of the then conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra Sir Andrew Davis.
- Under Bartle, the Toronto Children’s Chorus earned national and international recognition.
- TCC is recognized as one of the finest treble choirs in the world and has had a huge influence of treble choir repertoire.
- Repertoire embraces diverse cultures and traditions and includes many vocal genres and commissioned Canadian pieces.

- Current conductor is Elise Bradley, who is in her 8^th season with the TCC
- Under Bradley, the TCC has a reputation of artistic excellence and music education

- Bradley has developed an annual concert series, continues the legacy of the annual School Choir Invitational and the Toronto District School Board Choral Project which provides professional development to music teachers.

- There are 6 ensembles under the TCC umbrella:
1) KinderNotes – ages 3-6, serves as an introduction to the TCC program
2) Preparatory Choir – Ages 6+, youngest audition based choir that prepares singers for training choir
3) Training Choir I, II, III – placed into appropriate group based on musical ability and maturity, develop skills to prepare for the main choir
4) Main Choirs – consists of Cantare, Chorale, Chamber Choir and Choral Scholars. Cantare is an introduction to the main choirs, sings less repertoire. Chorale is the experienced half of the choir and has a large commitment to touring and performing. Chorale extends to Chamber Choir and Choral Scholars, who have more music responsibilities.
5) Boys Choir – boys from preparatory choir and up with unchanged voices.
6) Youth Choir – SATB choir, ages 16-25, open to anyone willing to audition.

Repertoire Recommendations

1. Come, Ye Makers of Song – Written by Jean Ashworth Bartle as a birthday gift to Bartle. I like the text and think it’s a good opening song for a program. Although it’s not harmonically difficult, it’s in an irregular meter which is a good rhythm teaching aid.

2. Micma’q Honour Song – Traditional Native Chant arr. by Lydia Adams. I like the nature sounds (bird calls, wind blowing, etc.), and the haunting sound showcases the voices well. I also like it because it is a chant, which makes it different than the usual repertoire.

3. Sing me a Song – Composed by Leonard Enns for the Niagara Children’s Chorus. I like the jazz nature of the piece as well as the sunny lyrics. It’s in unison (with optional divisi.), which is challenging to sing. This could be a bit more of a challenging piece, depending on the skill of the choir.

4. Winter from Folksongs for Four Seasons – Composed by Ralph Vaughn Williams. This is a Christmas piece that doesn’t incorporate any Christmas carols like Silent Night. It’s a nice and different addition to a Christmas program.

5. Petites Voix – A multi-movement work by Francis Poulenc. I chose this piece because I like the way French sounds when it’s sung. It’s also written specifically for children and is about things related to children such as “Le petit garçon” or “The Little Boy”.