Community Knowledge Centre - Toronto Community Foundation

About this organization

Mission

The Amadeus Choir is a large, exciting choral organization which, through the love of singing combined with a professional and inspired approach in the performance of both traditional and contemporary repertoire, strives to reach a highly diversified audience. This group is unique in its shared sense of community and its commitment to musical excellence and growth in a strongly supportive and welcoming environment.

History of Organization

Founded in 1975, the Amadeus Choir is currently under the direction of Conductor and Artistic Director, Dr. Lydia Adams. The 90-voice auditioned choir has become known for its professionalism, exceptional musicality, and diverse, high–quality programming – all a reflection of the leadership provided by Dr. Adams over the past 25 years.

The Amadeus Choir firmly supports emerging young Canadian musicians and composers and, through their performances, provides employment for local soloists and instrumentalists.

As one of Canada’s pre-eminent choral groups, the Amadeus Choir performs a four-concert subscription series of concerts in the George Weston Recital Hall at the Toronto Centre for the Arts and at carefully selected Toronto venues, presenting well-known artists in works by Canadian and international composers.

Accolades and Accomplishments

• CBC Radio Competition, 1992 Amateur Choir, Second Prize – Large Choirs
• CBC Radio Competition, 1994 Amateur Choir, Finalist – Contemporary Music
• CBC Radio Competition, 1994 Amateur Choir, Second Prize – Large Choirs
• 2002 National Choral Awards, Outstanding Choral Recording, “Songs of the Spirit”
• 2009 and 2010 Premier’s Award for excellence in the Arts, Finalist – Dr. Lydia Adams, Conductor and Artistic Director of the Amadeus Choir

Programs

>The Christmas Carol and Chanukah Song Writing Competition

The Amadeus Choir has come a long way in the last 35 years from its beginnings as a small volunteer choir in Scarborough to becoming a leading force on the provincial and national choral scene. The Amadeus Choir prides itself on three principles which have been essential in its growth:  professionalism, dedication to the highest standards in music and promotion of a diverse repertoire.

• Members of the Amadeus Choir are auditioned and re-auditioned annually, ensuring that the singers are maintaining the high standards set by Dr. Adams.  The Amadeus Choir provides a venue for highly skilled and emerging singers from the community to be exposed to learning experiences and provides an avenue for the singers to perfect their craft amongst peers and in front of a live audience.  The Choir also employs trained professional singers as section leads to act as mentors to the other members in enhancing and learning the music.
• Every year, Dr. Adams plans the next season’s programming with the intention of bringing the choir to a new artistic level and giving the community a high quality, unique choral concert season.
• Through such programs as the Christmas Carol and Chanukah Song Writing Competition, the choir continuously supports the growth and development of emerging composers and performs their works proudly during the regular concert season.

The Christmas Carol and Chanukah Song Writing Competition

“The Christmas Carol and Chanukah Song Writing Competition is an opportunity for talented young composers from around the world to add their voices to Canada’s rich choral tradition, and we are thrilled to be able to provide them with this unique platform to promote their works,” said Dr. Lydia Adams, Conductor and Artistic Director, the Amadeus Choir.

Established in 1987 by the choir and its celebrated Conductor and Artistic Director, Dr. Lydia Adams, the competition’s goals are threefold: to provide a forum for new compositions to be created, to motivate composers to develop their craft and to augment the existing choral repertoire for Christmas and Chanukah.

The international competition is open to children and youth and in odd numbered years, the competition is open to all composers regardless of age or level of experience.

Funding and Program Partners
The Christmas Carol and Chanukah Song Writing Competition has been generously supported by members of the Choir and individual members of the community.

Program Impact

Since 1987, the competition has grown over the years to include submissions from around the world and serves as an inspiration to composers of all ages and experience to write new works, enriching Canada’s outstanding choral tradition.

Toronto's Vital Signs® indicator(s) addressed by Program

”Toronto is the leader in nurturing talent. The link between talent and the proportion of the population in the “creative class” is one measure of the potential for prosperity” (Toronto’s Vital Signs®, 2009)

Participant Vignette

”My name is Allison Winn and I am 11 years old. I have been participating in the Amadeus Choir’s Carol and Chanukah Song Writing Competition since I was about 4. That year, I worked on a song with my brother, Ben, and we were really thrilled to hear our piece performed, when we won in our category. Since then, I have written a song each year and have won several times. The competition has meant a lot to me because I learned a lot about writing music, and I learned that being able to write music is something kind of unique about me. I think it’s nice that the Amadeus Choir runs this competition because it encourages kids to write music, which increases the repertoire for Canadian choirs to sing. This is important to me because I sing in a great choir, and when I have won, my choir has gotten to sing my songs. It’s nice when you get to hear your song performed by a big choir, and really nice that hundreds of other people in the audience can hear it too. It makes me feel very proud to have entered and won the competition. I’ve been able to share my songs with the kids in my class at school, by bringing in recordings for them to hear, and I was also able to sing one of my songs on CBC radio on Andy Barrie’s show when I was six. That was pretty cool!

I plan to keep working hard on my entries to the competition. Each year I add a challenge for myself to make the whole thing a little tougher, because I know if I meet the challenge I set for myself, I’ll feel really good about it.”