New music festival gives choral music lovers a chance to learn and perform together with musicians from around the world.
February 24, 2020. Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. On June 26 & 27, Choral Mosaic 2020 will gather choral music enthusiasts from around the world at The Living Arts Centre for unprecedented opportunities to learn and perform together with top professional musicians. No auditions will be held and singers of all levels and abilities are invited to participate and perform.
Workshops and master classes will explore a wide range of interactive topics for singers of all levels. Then, all festivalgoers will gather onstage in a massed choir of four hundred singers to perform at the Grand Finale Gala Concert with top musicians and conductors with The Mississauga Symphony Orchestra.
Workshops – a diverse offering of choral workshops for singers of all skill levels led by esteemed clinicians from across Canada:
- Pre-festival bonus workshop: “Start Your Voices – A Choral Mosaic Vocal Warmup” with Dr. Darryl Edwards, University of Toronto;
- Master Class by Rajaton, superstar a capella group from Finland;
- Respectful Collaboration with Indigenous Artists with Dr. Lori-Anne Dolloff, University of Toronto
- Singing Gospel: An Introduction with Dr. Karen Burke, York University and Toronto Mass Choir;
- Embodied Choral Singing with Dr. Kimberley Barber, Wilfrid Laurier University;
- Free Your Voice: Learning Healthy and Expressive Vocal Technique with Dr. Elroy Friesen, University of Manitoba;
- Who are the people in your neighbourhood? Exploring multicultural connections through community music with Dr. Charlene Pauls & Natalie Fasheh of the Mosaic Music Collective;
- An Introduction to South Indian Singing with Suba Sankaran and Dylan Bell of Auto Rickshaw;
- Raising Voices: Choirs for People Living with Dementia with Bob Anderson, Conductor/Director and Ruth Watkiss, Certified Music Therapist with the Alzheimer Society Peel.
Learn more about the Choral Mosaic 2020 workshops here.
Grand Finale Gala Concert repertoire – all 400 festival attendees are welcomed onstage to perform onstage in a massed choir:
- This Massed Choir will perform a new work by Danish composer Kim André Arnesen specially commissioned for the Choral Mosaic 2020;
- The Massed Choir will also perform these powerful master and contemporary works:
- Laudate Dominum from Mozart’s Vesperae Solennes de Confessore;
- Excerpts from Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story;
- Excepts from Handel’s Messiah (Worthy Is the Lamb That Was Slain and Amen Chorus);
- a capella works by contemporary composers Eric Whitacre and Sara Quartel;
- Guest Conductors Dr. Karen Burke and Lori-Ann Dolloff will join Conductor and Artistic Director David Ambrose with The Mississauga Symphony Orchestra.
- Spotlight Performances showcasing visiting choirs from around the world will round out the program:
- Rolnička Praha from Prague, Czech Republic (Traditional, Folk, Contemporary);
- Bishop’s Crew from Nairobi (Gospel, Pop);
- more Spotlight Performances to come!
Artistic Director David Ambrose explains his choice of repertoire for the Grand Finale Gala Concert: “I chose the bigger works for the power of singing these masterworks with massed choir and full orchestra. Many choristers will have sung these masterworks with piano and organ before, but the fullness and majesty of the sound will be unlike anything they’ve ever experienced. Eric Whitacre is wildly successful and Kim André Arnesen is the most frequently performed classical composer out of Norway today. And Sara Quartel is a great rising Canadian talent. They each have their own unique voice.”
Tickets to Choral Mosaic 2020 on sale now at www.choralmosaic.com.
Choral Mosaic 2020 welcomes choral music lovers everywhere to share and explore the wonder and passion of choral music.