UPCOMING EVENTS
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Saturday, April 27, 2019
On Sat., April 27, 2019, 7:30 pm at our EARTH, SEA & SKY II concert at Eastminster United, the VOCA Chorus of Toronto will be presenting a spirited choral celebration of Earth Week, featuring jazz musician Paul Winter‘s stunning – and more timely than ever – tribute to the Earth: the Missa Gaia / Earth Mass. This remarkable work combines divergent musical styles and instrumentation with haunting recordings of a lone tundra wolf, singing Humpback whales and harp seal calls.
We’ll also be performing Cree composer Andrew Balfour‘s riveting Ambe, a wide range of inspiring selections by contemporary Canadian composers Paul Halley, Sarah Quartel and Matthew Emery, and compelling works by Ola Gjeilo and others.
Some of Canada’s most outstanding jazz and classical musicians will be joining us as our guest artists: Alana Bridgewater, vocalist, Colleen Allen, sax, Shawn Grenke, organ, Roberto Occhipinti, bass, Mark Kelso, drums & percussion and Juan Carlos Medrano, percussion.
This will be an extraordinary evening of music… a concert not to be missed!
Design Work: Jenny Crober
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PREVIOUS EVENTS
Saturday, March 2, 2019
Our 9th Annual VOCA CABARET / SILENT AUCTION on Saturday, March 2, 2019 at the Estonian House, 958 Broadview Ave. will feature several of our multi-talented choristers (including some of our professional leads) as soloists, in duos and in larger ensembles, performing an eclectic array of serious (and silly) musical theatre, jazz, classical, folk and other selections.
Our ever popular Silent Auction will be highlighted at this fully licensed event, which will also feature complimentary savoury and sweet snacks.
Doors will open at 6:30 pm. Our Cabaret will begin at 7:00 pm.
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Saturday, December 8, 2018
Mark your calendars for the VOCA Chorus of Toronto’s “WINTERSONGS” concert: 7:30 pm, Saturday, December 8, 2018.
VOCA will be performing an engaging and eclectic array of seasonal songs, featuring Celtic and other choral and instrumental selections, with music by Sarah Quartel (“A Winter Day”), Ēriks Ešenvalds (“Only In Sleep”), Mark Sirett (“Taladh Chriosda”), Matthew Emery (“Still Colors {Velvet Shoes}”), La Bolduc (“Voilà le père Noël”), David Mooney (“Wexford Carol”) and others.
We’ll also be joined by our instrumentalists in the premiere of Jenny Crober’s choral arrangement of the traditional Newfoundland carol, “Come And I will Sing You”.
Our special guests will be Sybil Shanahan (cello), and Celtic multi-instrumentalists Saskia Tomkins (violin, nyckelharpa, Celtic harp) and Steáfán Hannigan (Irish flute, bodhrán, Uilleann pipes).
Our annual carol sing, along with our fabulous raffle and holiday bake sale will round out this evening of music … a perfect way to welcome the holiday season!
Date, Time: Saturday, December 8, 2018 at 7:30 pm
Venue: Eastminster United Church, 310 Danforth Ave. (Chester subway) – now fully accessible
Tickets; More Info.: $30 Gen. Adm.; $25 Seniors; $15 Students
416-947-8487; https://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http%3A%2F%2F; www.eriksesenvalds.com%2Fcalendar%2Fonly-in-sleep-182
Photo, Design Work: Jenny Crober, with Naomi Shewchuk
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Saturday, October 6, 2018
On Saturday, October 6, 7:30 pm at the Social Capital Theatre, 154 Danforth Ave., VOCA Chorus of Toronto soprano Emily Vick Agnew and artistic director Jenny Crober (at the piano) performed “It’s a Grand Night For Singing!”, a tribute to the brilliant team of Rodgers & Hammerstein. Our show, a fundraiser for VOCA, included 3 of our talented leads as guests: Sonya Harper Nyby, Janaka Welihinda and Nicholas Borg.
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Saturday, May 5, 2018
On Saturday, May 5, 7:30 pm, at our “DREAMSONGS” concert, the VOCA Chorus of Toronto was thrilled to present the Canadian Premiere of DREAMWEAVER by the world-renowned composer, Ola Gjeilo, featuring our accompanist Elizabeth Acker, with soprano soloist Ellen McAteer and the VOCA Chamber Strings Orchestra.
Dreamweaver is a lush and evocative setting of a Norwegian medieval poem, ‘Draumkvedet’, an epic text with an expressive English adaptation by poet and composer Charles Anthony Silvestri.
Also featured that evening was a Toronto (and possibly Canadian) premiere of Ola Gjeilo’s SATB setting of his stunning Song Of The Universal, scored for choir, string orchestra and piano, with an exquisite text by Walt Whitman.
Other works included Mr. Gjeilo’s gorgeous The Lake Isle, for steel-string guitar, piano and string quartet, with text by William Butler Yeats; The Lake Isle of Innisfree, Toronto composer Eleanor Daley’s sublime setting of the same text; Gordon Lightfoot’s classic, Pussywillows, Cat-tails, beautifully arranged by another Toronto composer, Bonnie Penfound; Ottawa’s Laura Hawley’s joyful, jazz-inspired setting of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 43 (All Days Are Nights); Kingston composer Mark Sirett’s exquisite Carrickfergus.
We were joined by several superb guest artists: Ellen McAteer, soprano; Jason Fowler, guitar; Jeremy Potts & Jennifer Burford, violin; Alex McLeod, viola; Mary-Katherine Finch, cello; and the VOCA Chamber Strings orchestra.