PODIUM 2022 was held in Toronto, Ontario from May 19-23, 2022 in partnership with Choirs Ontario. Stay tuned for more information on PODIUM 2024 in Montréal!
About PODIUM, our National Choral Conference & Festival
PODIUM is Choral Canada’s national biennial bilingual choral Conference and Festival and the top meeting place for Canada's choral community and beyond.
PODIUM is co-presented by Choral Canada and one of Canada's provincial choral organizations every two years. It brings together choral practitioners, researchers, administrators, students, representatives from the music industry, choristers, composers and other members of the choral community from across the country and beyond for professional development, the sharing and proliferation of ideas and research in choral music, performance, networking, and to celebrate Canada's choral communities.
The goals of PODIUM are to:
More specifically, the PODIUM Conference & Festival aims to:
History of PODIUM
Early PODIUM conferences (1982, 1984 and 1986) were held as part of existing provincial events in Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia respectively. The first self-supporting conference, PODIUM East, was hosted by the New Brunswick Choral Federation and Mount Allison University Department of Music in Sackville, New Brunswick in 1988. While each conference has its own special flavour, focus and theme, the name PODIUM has been maintained since that time.
PODIUM is co-presented by Choral Canada and one of Canada's provincial choral organizations every two years. It brings together choral practitioners, researchers, administrators, students, representatives from the music industry, choristers, composers and other members of the choral community from across the country and beyond for professional development, the sharing and proliferation of ideas and research in choral music, performance, networking, and to celebrate Canada's choral communities.
The goals of PODIUM are to:
- convene and celebrate the choral arts sector and community in Canada
- provide professional development, performance, research dissemination and networking opportunities for Canada’s choral community, and
- undertake choral advocacy initiatives to increase awareness of choral music and engage new participants.
More specifically, the PODIUM Conference & Festival aims to:
- Connect the choral community: PODIUM provides a setting for participants to mobilize knowledge through networking; attend a variety of presentation formats such as research paper presentations, workshops, panel discussions, roundtable dialogues, poster sessions, conducting masterclasses, reading sessions, and lecture-recitals; sing with and for each other
- Expand the choral community: PODIUM will expand current definitions of choral music by presenting diverse vocal ensembles; showcasing performances with varied musical genres; creating and engaging with other art forms; and growing audiences (public) from diverse backgrounds, disciplines, and cultural groups
- Inspire the choral community: PODIUM inspires and ignites an interest in, and passion for, choral singing through exposure to new repertoire, innovative pedagogies, and creative performances; building awareness of the continuum of types of choral ensembles (from professional choirs to community-based vocal ensembles); and providing opportunities to develop skills in choral technique.
History of PODIUM
Early PODIUM conferences (1982, 1984 and 1986) were held as part of existing provincial events in Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia respectively. The first self-supporting conference, PODIUM East, was hosted by the New Brunswick Choral Federation and Mount Allison University Department of Music in Sackville, New Brunswick in 1988. While each conference has its own special flavour, focus and theme, the name PODIUM has been maintained since that time.
Previous Podiums have been held in:
1982 Kingston, ON
1984 Winnipeg, MB
1986 Vancouver, BC
1988 Sackville, NB -- First self-supporting PODIUM conference
1990 Calgary, AB
1992 Waterloo, ON
1994 Saskatoon, SK
1996 Québec City, QC
1998 Halifax, NS
2000 Edmonton, AB
2002 Toronto, ON
2004 Winnipeg, MB
2006 Victoria, BC
2008 Sackville, NB
2010 Saskatoon, SK
2012 Ottawa, ON
2014 Halifax, NS
2016 Edmonton, AB
2018 St. John's, NL
2020 Montreal, QC (cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic)
2022 Toronto, ON
1984 Winnipeg, MB
1986 Vancouver, BC
1988 Sackville, NB -- First self-supporting PODIUM conference
1990 Calgary, AB
1992 Waterloo, ON
1994 Saskatoon, SK
1996 Québec City, QC
1998 Halifax, NS
2000 Edmonton, AB
2002 Toronto, ON
2004 Winnipeg, MB
2006 Victoria, BC
2008 Sackville, NB
2010 Saskatoon, SK
2012 Ottawa, ON
2014 Halifax, NS
2016 Edmonton, AB
2018 St. John's, NL
2020 Montreal, QC (cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic)
2022 Toronto, ON