| Biography | The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir is a Canadian large vocal ensemble based in Toronto.
The Choir was co-founded in 1894 by Augustus S. Vogt and W. H. Hewlett. The ensemble was originally an extension of the choir of Jarvis St. Baptist Church in Toronto which Vogt directed and Hewlett accompanied. The choir is named after composer Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy.
The Choir has 150 voices, including a professional core of 20 singers along with auditioned amateur singers. The chamber sized 70-voice Mendelssohn Singers is formed from the Choir.
The Choir performs secular and sacred choral masterpieces in its own annual concert series, as well as regular performances with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. The Choir has toured in the United States and Europe including Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Kennedy Center and major venues in Vienna, Salzburg and Prague. In January 2010, the Choir travelled to Vancouver to perform in the 2010 Cultural Olympiad.
The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir's outreach programs include Singsation Saturday Choral Workshops for singers and an annual Choral Conductors' Symposium for emerging conductors. |