Shireen Abu Khader, Composer in residence Shireen Abu Khader is a Palestinian Jordanian Canadian artist, composer and educator. She holds a PhD in Music Education from the University of Toronto, a Master’s in Choral Music from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education from Oberlin College Conservatory. In 2002,...
Ken Stephen Large Stage Live! June 1, 2022 As in other concerts for the last couple of seasons, Saturday afternoon’s performance by the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir — titled Endangered — centred around a theme: the theme of endangered species, suggesting lines of thought about how we react and relate to all other living creatures with which we...
The program notes are written by Rena Roussin, musicologist and PhD candidate. Today’s concert, “Endangered,” brings together three works from North American choral repertoire to ask and reflect on some of life’s most foundational questions. All three pieces on tonight’s program draw on well-known texts from the Christian faith tradition, but often engage them critically, bringing...
Toronto Mendelssohn Choir gives Canadian premiere of Sarah Kirkland Snider’s Mass for the Endangered, a stunning musical call to protect the environment. Saturday, May 28 at 3 pm at Yorkminster Park Baptist Church Also available to stream online The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir (TMC)’s spring concert celebrates our natural world, and calls on all of us...
Choral Canada has compiled resources and graphics that outline the benefits of group singing – physical, psychological, social and emotional, and educational. Check out the graphics and a list of curated research that can be shared, with your own community and with policy makers, on the importance of this no-equipment-required, popular activity. Here’s an informative...
Ken Stephen Large Stage Live! April 21, 2022 The Good Friday concert, Sacred Music For a Sacred Space, given by the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and the Nathaniel Dett Chorale, presented an unusual and even dramatic instance of how a long-planned live concert or performance can be overtaken by the march of current events. This concert was...
The 2022 national Choral Canada Podium Conference will be held in May in Toronto. The conference will include in-person and streaming options plus a full festival of choral concerts. Learn more and plan to attend the conference sessions, concerts, or both. The Conference and Festival runs from May 19-23. Visit the Podium website. ps. TMC’s...
Denise Lai La Scena Musicale, April-May 2022 issue In his inaugural season as Toronto Mendelssohn Choir’s (TMC) artistic director, Jean-Sébastien Vallée has deliberately programmed concerts with themes reflecting current world events. Here is a look at TMC’s remaining concerts of the 2021-22 season. Sacred Music for a Sacred Space, on April 15, features over 130...
The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir was joined by the Nathaniel Dett Chorale for this concert on April 15, 2022. The program notes are written by Rena Roussin, musicologist and PhD candidate. who wrote on behalf of both the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and the Nathaniel Dett Chorale leadership. When the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and Nathaniel Dett Chorale...