Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto: Plenty to Celebrate

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Conductor Kathleen Allan joined the Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto as their Artistic Director in July of 2019. Her first exciting season with the group was brought to an abrupt halt, though, by the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Since then, she has been “blown away by the (choir’s) community commitment,” she says, which has played a massive role in allowing the group to return to full-scale live concerts, many of which have sold out in the last two years.

This year marks the organization’s 50th anniversary. Founded in 1973 by Robert Palmai, Amadeus boasts an impressive history. Silver and Gold, their upcoming holiday concert, honours this legacy in numerous ways.

The concert is a co-production between the Amadeus Choir and the Hannaford Street Silver Band. This will be the 14th time the two groups have collaborated, having previously produced several performances and two album recordings (one of which received a Juno nomination). “They were first on my list of who to call, to honour Amadeus’s past,” said Allan.

Silver and Gold will feature works by Heinrich Schutz, Giovanni Gabrieli, James Rolfe, and Len Ballantine, as well as a selection of carol arrangements by David Willcocks. The evening will also highlight some of the composers who had previously participated in Amadeus’s Seasonal Songwriting Competition. First run in 1987, the competition saw several iterations throughout its 25 years. “It was incredible to go through the archives,” Allan said. “Some of the names that pop up blow your mind!” Pieces by Mark Sirrett, Eleanor Daley, Laura Sgroi, and Cassandra Luftspring will be among those whose work makes up this section of the concert.

While the program promises a look back, it will also look ahead. Amadeus and the Hannaford Street Silver Band will join forces to première a new work by composer Aaron Manswell. A doctoral student at the University of Toronto, Manswell’s compositional style draws on classical, gospel, and R&B musical idioms. The Toronto native has previously studied at Oakwood University and the University of Memphis. In addition to his work as a composer, he is also a wind-band conductor, and is active as an R&B producer. His piece for the occasion presents a secular reflection on the ways “families and communities come together at this time of year.”

Creative programming and innovative musical presentation seem to be at the heart of much of Amadeus’s season. Just a couple of weeks ago, the choir performed Andrew Downing’s scoring of the spooky 1922 film Nosferatu. “It was the right way to start the year, on a lighthearted—but musically challenging—note,” said Allan who, in 2018, was involved with the work’s première at the Orpheum Theatre, as associate conductor of the Vancouver Bach Choir.

The new year sees no shortage of ambitious projects for the choir. First, they will collaborate with the TSO, alongside soprano Midori Marsh, baritone Tyler Duncan, and tenor Andrew Haji in a performance of Haydn’s Creation (May 15). Beyond the music, the concert will highlight the work of Indigenous visual artist Maxine Noel, who will create visual portrayals of Indigenous creation stories for the occasion.

In June, they look forward to another instalment of their Songwalks. What “started in the pandemic as a way of making music safely,” has since evolved tremendously. “It started as a podcast,” notes Allan, but has since transformed into an exciting means of presenting choral music “outside of the concert hall, and reaching new audiences.” Last year’s Songwalk, which took place at the Toronto Botanical Gardens, saw choir members scattered throughout the gardens, inviting visitors into unexpected musical spaces. The event culminated in a performance of a new work by Cris Derksen, a Cree cellist and composer whose piece drew on the theme of Indigenous water sovereignty.

This year’s Songwalk: Braiding Voices will be a collaboration with Deantha Edmunds, a composer and classically trained Inuk soprano. The event will be presented twice—once at the Toronto Botanical Gardens, and a second time as part of Toronto’s Arts in the Parks program.

The organization’s pursuit of musical excellence enhances their commitment to maintaining a strong sense of community, and vice versa. “It’s like a family of old friends that gather every Tuesday night, Allan said with a laugh. “You walk into rehearsal and it’s like a party. This is what makes the group unique.

“They are fearless,” she added, suggesting that this can be heard in the way they sight-read new music. “They sight-read with confidence—with their most beautiful vocal sound,” Allan said. “They have been trained over five decades to know that new music is not something to be afraid of—that it is not something that is at odds with the works we know and love. It enhances our experiences.”

It’s this attitude that confirms the Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto is ready to take on the next 50 years. Under Allan’s leadership, the group can look forward to many more innovative projects ahead, including more collaborations, co-productions, commissions and, hopefully, a return to touring and recording activities in the not-too-distant future.

The Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto will present Silver and Gold on Dec. 16 at the George Weston Recital Hall, at the Meridian Arts Centre. www.amadeuschoir.com