News

ACCC Welcomes Erin Bustin as Chief Administrative Officer

It is with great pleasure that the executive and board of ACCC welcomes Erin Bustin as our new Chief Administrative Officer. Originally from Nova Scotia, Erin now resides in Ontario and brings a wealth of experience and enthusiasm to the position. Learn more about Erin here.
(Photo: Twin Bridges Photography)

Choral célébration chorale Podium 2012: A Capital Experience!



Canada’s National Choral Conference presented by ACCC and Choirs Ontario
May 17-20, 2012 • Ottawa, ON

I vividly remember attending my first ACCC national choral conference. It was in 1984 (can it really be 27 years ago?) on a cold October weekend in Winnipeg. I was a young conductor with a scant two years’ experience under my belt, excited but nervous about coming into close contact with choral conductors wiser and more experienced than me. I will never regret getting on the plane from Montreal to Winnipeg because what awaited me was a career-changing and -enhancing event that expanded my choral horizons in more ways than one. Circumstances prevented me from attending the next three conferences, and I was truly sorry to miss them, because having been to one, I knew all too well what I was missing out on.

Happily, I have not missed one since 1992. Each conference has had its own flavour and highlights, and each time I have come away with choral nourishment and resources that help me in my quest to become a better conductor. What makes each Podium conference so special? There are a number of reasons.

First, there are the people. It is the one event where you can meet and learn from a number of Canada’s most well-established conductors, as well as see emerging choral leaders at work. It is always a joy to meeting fellow conductors from across the country. Conducting can be a lonely pursuit, and to be able to share repertoire ideas, concerns and challenges with colleagues is reassuring and immensely helpful. Podium 2012 will welcome such choral leaders as Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt, Elise Bradley, Karen Grylls, Chantal Masson-Bourque, Gerald Neufeld, Alina Oracca and Zimfira Poloz. You will see them at work in workshops and presentations but might also find yourself seated next to them at a meal or a concert!

Then there are the concerts! And what a feast it is, with the opportunity to hear not one, not two, but several choirs every day. How often do we get this pleasure? At Podium 2012, you will get to hear the eagerly-awaited National Youth Choir concert, directed this time around by Ivars Taurins. The opening concert will be a special Ottawa welcome featuring three great youth choirs (Cantiamo, De la Salle and Canterbury) singing together, and a performance of the Missa Gaia with Matthew Larking conducting singers from some of Ottawa’s finest adult choirs. You will also have a chance to hear the Elmer Iseler Singers with conductor Lydia Adams on the final evening. During the day, choirs from Edmonton, Calgary, Hamilton, Guelph, Toronto, Montreal and St. John’s, all chosen by audition, will present a very large palette of repertoire for you to enjoy and give you ideas for your own future programs. (You will also get ideas from the reading sessions!)

Each Podium conference also features some special events and the 2012 edition will be no exception. We will hear Dr. Don McLean’s keynote speech. A passionate advocate for music as a life-changing force, he is Dean of Music at the University of Toronto and former Dean of McGill’s Schulich School of Music. There will be a tribute concert for composer Ruth Watson Henderson, one of our national treasures. We will celebrate the best in Canadian choral music at the banquet with the announcement of the winners of the National Choral Awards. And if that were not enough, you can witness the live competition for the $12,000 prize as emerging conductors lead the Elmer Iseler Singers for the Sir Ernest MacMillan Foundation Award!

Consider this your personal invitation from me to come and be inspired at our national conference for choral music. Whether you are a young and emerging conductor, one of our esteemed conducting veterans, a chorister or a choral administrator, I hope that you will join us in Ottawa next May for the true choral celebration that will be Podium 2012.

Patricia Abbott
Former ACCC Executive Director (1993-2009)
Member of the Podium 2012 Organizing Committee


National Youth Choir Apprentice Conductor 2012 Announced
Initiated in 1998, the Conducting Apprenticeship Program  offers a young conductor the opportunity to spend two weeks studying and working under the mentorship of some of Canada's finest choral conductors during the NYC residency. The selection committee tasked with choosing the next Apprentice Conductor has reached its decision and is happy to announce that Joel Tranquilla has been selected as the Apprentice Conductor for the National Youth Choir 2012.

Joel was chosen from a field of seven very qualified applicants and will work with the National Youth Choir 2012 under Master Conductor Ivars Taurins. Originally from Fredericton, New Brunswick, Joel has recently been awarded a Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Michigan and is presently enrolled in the doctoral program at Michigan State University.  He has recently been appointed the Artistic Director of the Windsor Classic Chorale, a mixed chamber choir in Windsor, Ontario and is also the Chorus Master of the Windsor Symphony Orchestra.
  
The Board of Directors of the Association of Canadian Choral Communities joins with the singers of the National Youth Choir and Ivars Taurins in congratulating Joel Tranquilla in being chosen as Apprentice Conductor for the National Youth Choir 2012.

Noteworthy

ACCC National Choral Awards
A perfect opportunity to give national recognition to an individual or organization in your community that has made an outstanding contribution to the choral art, whether as a conductor, sponsor, administrator or producer. For a complete list of awards visit National Choral Awards and complete the Nomination Form.
Nomination Deadline: February 15, 2012



National Youth Choir Conductor Search 2014
ACCC is now accepting nominations for the conductor of the 2014 National Youth Choir. For details and Nomination Form see Conductor Search.
Deadline for nominations is March 1, 2012



Call for Research Papers
The Editorial Committee for the Association of Canadian Choral Communities (ACCC) is now accepting research papers for the fall 2012 issue of Anacrusis, the magazine of the ACCC. For submission guidelines, please visit Guidelines. Submissions should be forwarded to the attention of Carolyn Nielsen: academic@choralcanada.org. All papers will undergo a process of blind peer review. Questions relating to the guidelines for submission should be directed to Dean Jobin-Bevans: djobinbe@lakeheadu.ca.
The submission deadline is April, 2012.



Support National Youth Choir 2012
The 2012 National Youth Choir will take place in Ontario (in conjunction with Podium 2012), May 5-20. The choir, comprised of singers from every province and territory in Canada, will gather for a week-long residency with guest conductor Ivars Taurins of the acclaimed Tafelmusik Chamber Choir before embarking on a tour of the provinces of Ontario and Quebec culminating in a gala final performance at Podium 2012 in Ottawa.

Please use the Canada Helps Donate button (found here and on the NYC page) to make a secure and immediate contribution. You will receive a charitable Income Tax receipt via e-mail directly from Canada Helps and your donation will be gratefully acknowledged in the NYC programme.



Thank you in advance for your support.

Read "I Have Had Singing", an article about the NYC experience written by Andrea Ellis (NYC 2010) and carried on the Canadian Encyclopedia blog.



ACCC Student Chapter
The recently formed ACCC Student Chapter is the official wing of the Association of Canadian Choral Communities designed to promote and foster student activities in choral arts across Canada. Membership is open to all full-time students studying at a recognized post-secondary institution. Full-time student members of ACCC automatically become members of the Student Chapter (Membership Form). Learn more about this vibrant group by reading their Incanto Blog which offers interesting articles, interviews, news and an opportunity to share ideas.



ACCC Choral Bytes Blog
Stay up to date by becoming a regular follower of the Choral Bytes blog at http://choralbytes.blogspot.com/. Please send us your notices by using this convenient submission form.


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