Choirs for Change

Voting for The Coast - Halifax/Kjipuktuk Best of Halifax Awards closes on November 3—and our choir Polaris is nominated for Best Community Choir!

We're honoured to be in such great company on this list, and we'd be grateful for your support! 🎶

Voting for The Coast - Halifax/Kjipuktuk Best of Halifax Awards closes on November 3—and our choir Polaris is nominated for Best Community Choir!

We're honoured to be in such great company on this nomination list, and we'd be grateful for your support! Vote here: vote.thecoast.ca/music/best-community-choir

We are thrilled to be partnering with aRENYE and BASYL for Nocturne: Art at Night this year!

Join us Saturday evening on the hour, every hour, from 6pm to 10pm to learn "City on Fire" with BASYL and aRENYE. No singing experience necessary! We'll be set up at St. Paul's Church on the Grand Parade (1749 Argyle St).

For BASYL, music is more than just a career; it serves as a profound avenue for self-expression. Hailing from the heart of the Middle East, BASYL; a Palestinian rapper, crafts a unique style that blends the melodic vibes of R&B with meticulously crafted lyrics and an infectious, rhythmic flow. BASYL delves into themes such as freedom of speech, oppression, personal growth, and love through his music.

On the way to the forefront of Afrobeats in Canada. aRENYE continues to deliver extraordinary performances around the country and release undiluted, free-spirited music. His latest release, Full Circle II, is available at tangerinealbum.com | create. execute. repeat.

Listen to "City on Fire" here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYX8ShnZ8Nc

It may be fall now but we're still dreaming of summer! ☀️ Huge thanks to MJ Photographics for capturing our last Spíra gathering of the summer. If you want to check out our drop-in choir before the weather warms up, join us at Nocturne on Saturday, October 19! See our previous post for details.

ID 1: a group of singers, standing, smile widely. They are outside in a courtyard surrounded by tall buildings. Most are wearing light jackets.
ID 2: Nelle, the conductor of Spíra, stands at the microphone. Her music is in one hand and her other hand points up to the sky.
ID 3: a singer in a yellow t-shirt sits in the crowd and smiles for the camera.
ID 4: an adult and a child, both with matching brown hair, sing together. They are seated, and looking up and off to the side.
ID 5: three singers sit in a row at the back of the courtyard. Their chairs are surrounded by bright greenery. A fourth singer sits in the row in front of them.
ID 6: Nelle holds the microphone as she speaks into it. Kyle, the pianist, and Adam, the bass player, stand behind her.
ID 7: Kyle grins for the camera as he shows off his new rainbow, heart-shaped sunglasses.
ID 8: row of singers are seated, singing, and focusing on their lyric sheets.
ID 9: a singer concentrates on her lyrics sheet, following the words with a finger as she sings.
ID 10: Nelle stands at the microphone, leading the singers who are seated in rows in front of her.

Sing with us at Nocturne: Art at Night!

We'll be teaching simple arrangements of local songs to whoever wants to learn them. Join us on the hour, every hour, from 6pm–11pm at St. Paul's Halifax (1749 Argyle Street) on October 19. Stay tuned to find out what we'll be singing!

Once a term, Polaris gathers for a special retreat—a day full of singing, visioning for the year, and community building. Thanks to Port Wallis United Church for sharing your space with us, and Tarek's Cafe for the delicious lunch!

Meet our new board of directors! We had our AGM last night, welcoming in new members to our board and welcoming back returning members for a second term.

Left to right: Jack Bennet (co-chair), Christina Redmond (choir representative), Anneke van den Hof (member at large), Shuvanjan Karmaker (co-chair), Bruce Muir (member at large), Nelle Callanan (upper voices choir & Spíra conductor, non-voting member), Elle Kaufman (choir representative)

Not pictured: Jessica Amador (member at large), Rohin Minocha-McKenney (treasurer), Shauna DeGruchy (member at large)

All our choir directors are also non-voting members: Ryan Henwood (Polaris conductor & artistic director), Amelia McMahon (Eastern Horizon co-conductor), Thomas Burton (Eastern Horizon co-conductor)

Our new upper voices choir had their very first rehearsal today, and it was such a success! Beautiful music and lots of fun was shared by all 🎶 Thanks to all the singers for joining us!

Polaris is looking for lower voices! 🎶

If you sing tenor, baritone, or bass, we'd love to have you in our choir. We rehearse on Monday evenings, perform 5–6 times a season, and don't require any auditions! And if you're not sure what part you sing, we can organize a quick vocal placement.

Polaris is suited for folks with some pre-existing choir experience and foundational understandings of social justice practices, but is open to anyone who is interested.

If you would like to register, email [email protected]

Altos and sopranos, we can place you on our waiting list and we'll reach out when a space opens up. We're sorry we can't welcome everyone this year, but in the interest of a balanced choral sound (and ease of finding places for a large choir to rehearse and perform!) we've had to limit the number of new upper voices.

ID: The singers, in their concert black clothing, are smiling and standing in rows. Purple text says "Sing with us!" and smaller, white text says "call for lower voices."

We’re so excited to welcome Kate Spencer, our new administrative director, to the Choirs for Change team! Show her some love in the comments ❤️

Kate is a seasoned marketing, communications, and project management professional with over a decade of experience, having worked with organizations like the Canadian Red Cross, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and the Newcomer Choir Association – Canada. She’s also sung with several choirs, including our own Eastern Horizon chamber choir!

We sat down with Kate to get to know her and ask her a few questions.

Q: What excites you the most about choir?
A: Nothing feels as good as choir feels, on multiple physical, emotional, and spiritual levels. Those moments when the harmonic vibrations hit just right and you can almost see the air shimmer are no more or less exciting and energizing than the moments when you make eye contact with someone you don’t know very well, and yet feel completely aligned within your goal of that moment to make music and community together.

Q: What’s your favourite song or music group (choral or otherwise)?
A: I’m going to change the question slightly to include composers, because really all anyone needs to know about me as a person is that I’ve loved the work of Stephen Sondheim since I was about 8 years old. And one of my favourites of his is also one of his most choral: “Sunday” from “Sunday in the Park with George.”

Q: Is there a cause/social justice organization that you’re passionate about that you’d like to draw attention to?
A: I think more and more that the way forward is not to think about individual social justice causes but to try to apply an intersectional approach to situations—like people can’t solve problems if they don’t make a living wage and know where their next meal is coming from, conversations aren’t complete if there isn’t a diversity of racial and gender voices involved, and none of it really matters in the long term if we don’t have a healthy planet to live on. We can’t be global citizens without thinking about our own homes, and we can’t pigeonhole our viewpoint to just the things we can touch. To give you an answer that is actually concrete and local to me, I will say I greatly admire the work of the Ecology Action Centre and Veith House.

Q: When you’re not singing or making music, how do you like to fill your time?
A: I love movement—very into kickboxing lately and also always down for a drop-in dance class—and ingesting media of many kinds—books, movies, dance, visual art—and I always feel better when I’ve gone for a long walk on a sunny day, even better if that walk is headed towards having brunch with a friend.

Sing with our new upper voices choir!! 🎶 Choirs for Change is excited to be launching our newest ensemble: an upper voices choir!

If you:
• are a soprano or alto
• have some experience reading sheet music and singing in an ensemble
• would like a non-traditional rehearsal schedule
• are looking to join a welcoming and creative community
• are interested in supporting social change through a social justice-oriented organization

then this choir might be right for you!

Led by the incredible Nelle Callanan (who currently leads Spíra), this choir will have four Saturday rehearsal sessions leading up to a concert in late November/early December.

If you're interested in learning more, please fill out this survey by Friday, September 13 **SURVEY CLOSED thanks for your interest!**

We're looking forward to singing with you!

ID: A purple poster says "Sing with our new choir!" It featured a photo of three singers holding sheet music in their hands, as well as a photo of Nelle. Nelle is a white woman with chin-length blonde hair, wearing a navy blue top.

Halifaxnoise Nova Scotia Choral Federation

Sing with PRIDE 🏳️‍🌈

Tuesday, July 23, at 6pm we'll be having a special pride-themed Spíra! Come sing your summer evening away with this curated pride songlist:
- I'm Still Standing (Elton John)
- The Story (Brandi Carlisle)
- Grace Kelly (Mika)
- I'm Coming Out (Diana Ross)

All are welcome, no singing experience is necessary! Entry is pay-what-you-can (suggested $5/person or $10/family). Find us in the Northwood Courtyard (entrance at 2615 Northwood Terrace).

Get ready to dance and sing your heart out 💃🕺

ID: full rows of singers line the padded floor of the Northwood Courtyard. Nelle stands at the front, conducting. A tall building rises in the background against a bright blue sky.

Join us July 9 at 6pm for this summer's second gathering of Spíra! ☀️ No auditions and no experience necessary.

Tomorrow we'll be singing a few classic favorites, like "What a Wonderful World," "Fly Me to the Moon," "All of Me," and more! Last week's Spíra gathering involved an instrumental solo, a tiny saxophone, and some impromptu step-touch choreography. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

Northwood Courtyard (use the main doors off Northwood Terrace to enter), 6pm–8pm
$5/person, $10/family, or Pay What You Can

Event details: https://www.facebook.com/events/858891979393391/858891989393390/

ID: a group of 40 or so singers sit in chairs in the Northwood Courtyard. There's a raised garden bed full of green growth to the right. In the background are two tall buildings, framing the blue sky.

Our Spira summer kick-off is looking a little damp, so we've decided to postpone until next Tuesday, July 2. Same time, same place!

Going forward, there's an indoor option available for rainy days (it's just not available today). See you next week!

A huge thank you to Dr. Tracy Wong and Christopher Ducasse for leading a composer's workshop with the singers of Eastern Horizon!

To hear about your inspirations, your intentions, and your writing process helps us, as vocalists, add new meaning into your pieces. It was also hugely helpful to work through certain pieces with you as we prepare for our upcoming concert "Pathways: Vision."

Eastern Horizon worked on "Antara (Between)" and "Ah! toi belle, hirondelle" with Tracy Wong, and "O Eternal Beauty" with Christopher Ducasse, as well as Sydney Guillaume's "Ansanm Ansanm."

Join us on July 5, 6, and 7 for Eastern Horizon's summer concerts in Lunenburg, Halifax, and Wolfville!

Lunenburg: https://www.facebook.com/events/1712222805851301/
Halifax: https://www.facebook.com/events/1456664188549365/
Wolfville: https://www.facebook.com/events/1498492380745484/

We're hiring!

We're hiring an administrative director to help support concert preparation, manage finances, write grant applications, and oversee various audience development and fundraising initiatives.

This is a one-year contract position for an estimated 4 hours a week, with a compensation of $500/month. Applications are due by June 8, 2024.

If you are committed to social justice and have an interest in arts or nonprofit administration, check out the job listing here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qoqE5T--2DpfgBTGhquFktSGmLZd2iRp/view?

What an incredible concert weekend! Swipe to see some backstage fun of flamingo poses, tiny chairs, and lots of smiles 🎶

Thanks to our amazing vendors and the wonderful Wellness Within for collaborating with us, and for making this event educational, celebratory, and creative.

We had such a fun weekend in Charlottetown for the Awards! Huge congratulations to Luminos Ensemble for winning Choral Recording of the Year, and to all the other nominees and winners 🎶

ID: Ryan, Rachael, Fiona, and Sanford pose for photos in front of a white East Coast Music Association banner.