Check out this article on GuelphToday.com with news about our May 3 season finale, Sound | Space.

Double the choir, double the power: Guelph Chamber Choir and Orpheus Choir unite on May 3

Just like that, it’s time for the final concert of the Guelph Chamber Choir’s 45th anniversary season.

On May 3, the GCC will collaborate with the Orpheus Choir of Toronto, and audience members will be treated to the sublime sound of 100 choral voices shimmering out into the space at Harcourt United Church in Guelph.

“Sound | Space on May 3 will also feature the world premiere of ‘Before the Battle’ by Toronto-based, South Korean composer Minjoo Kim, who was the first prize winner of the 2025/26 GCC Composition Competition,” explained a GCC spokesperson. “The text of Ms. Kim’s composition, the Siegfried Loraine Sassoon’s poem of the same name, “was chosen for its profound reflection on the horrors of war and individual fear, conveying a sense of emptiness, dread, hopelessness, resignation and a faint glimmer of hope.””

The program chosen for May 3 also features works by Eric Whitacre, Josef Rheinberger, and Frank Martin, as well as works by several Canadian composers, including Tracy Wong, Wilfrid Laurier University music professor and the GCC 2026 Youth Workshop guest clinician; and 2025/26 GCC Emerging Artist Drew Aarssen.

The May 3 program also features work by Jeanette Gallant, an educator and ethnomusicologist who contributed to many cross-cultural choral collaborations, including Sarah Quartel’s arrangement of ‘Iesous ahatonnia’, performed by GCC in 2024.

Guelph’s own Swani Zubayeer, an award-winning composer specializing in North Indian classical and contemporary Western classical music, rounds out the list of composers with local ties. Another Canadian composer whose work is being featured on May 3 is Capilano University faculty member and choral music specialist, Hussein Janmohamed.

“You won’t want to miss Sound | Space this spring!” enthused GCC General Manager, Cathy Landolt. “With over 100 voices joining together in lush harmonies and evocative soundscapes, our season finale will be a sonic and spatial experience like none other. Plus, you’ll be among the first to hear the premiere of a brand-new choral work, and you’ll get a sneak peek at what we’ve got in the works for next season!”

Sound | Space will be a breathtaking finale to what has been a tremendous 45^th anniversary season for the Guelph Chamber Choir. Get your tickets today and be part of an incredible experience of lush harmonies and surprising soundscapes at Harcourt United Church.

Sound | Space is happening May 3 at 4 p.m. at Harcourt United Church, 87 Dean Ave., Guelph.

Tickets are $5 for youth (age 15 & under), $10 for young adult (age 16-30), $30 for seniors (age 65+) and $35 for adults. 

Tickets are available online through this Zeffy link. 

You can read the full article on the GuelphToday.com website.

Check out this article in the Wellington Advertiser by Robin George about our February 6 Youth Workshop.

UGDSB singers band together for choral workshop

The sanctuary at Harcourt Memorial  United Church reverberated with the sounds of teenagers singing in Cree and Malay on Feb. 6.

The Guelph Chamber Choir (GCC) hosted a choral workshop taught by Wilfrid Laurier University choral head Dr. Tracy Wong and sponsored by Robert Munsch.

The children’s author was hoping to pop in at the end of the workshop to listen to a mini-concert put on by the students, but did not end up feeling well enough to do so.

The workshop included students from the Upper Grand District School Board’s  MADE Urban Arts program and John. F. Ross, Centennial and Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institutes.

Conductor Dr. Charlene Pauls said the GCC hosted the workshop because it’s important to foster a love of choral music in the next generation.

She said youth music programs are important and the benefits far-reaching, including boosting mental, social and physical health.

Wong taught the students two songs: her own song JAM! (Jom-Ayuh-Mari) in Malay, and a Cree song by Cree-Dene composer Sherryl Sewepahagam called mitêh.

You can read the full article on the Wellington Advertiser website.

Congratulations to our 2025/26 GCC Composition Competition winners!

After some difficult deliberations, we are thrilled to announce that this year’s First Prize winner is Minjoo Kim, for her composition “Before the Battle,” an a cappella setting of Siegfried Loraine Sassoon’s poem of the same name. 

We are also delighted to share that this year’s Honourable Mention has been awarded to Janet Correia for her composition “The Bells”, based on the poetry of Edgar Allan Poe.

We are extremely grateful to the many composers who participated in this year’s competition. We were very impressed by the calibre of submissions and thoroughly enjoyed the experience of interacting with these pieces.

About Minjoo Kim

Minjoo is a composer currently based in Toronto, whose works explore the interplay between traditional Korean music and contemporary Western idioms. Her music has been featured by the MacMillan Singers, Mannes Orchestra, and York Chamber Ensemble, among others. 

Most recently, her choral piece “Swing Hosanna” commissioned by the MacMillan Singers, was performed in 2025 at the CoCA Popups Concert, hosted by CoSA Canada. In 2024, her piano trio piece “Starburst Capriccio”  was premiered at the Asian Classical Music Initiative Conference in Los Angeles. She was awarded The Martinu Composition Prize at Mannes School of Music in 2022, and her orchestral piece “A Brutal Music Box” was premiered in New York City by the Mannes Orchestra in 2023.

She holds degrees from Mannes School of Music and is currently a doctoral candidate and Music Skills III TA at the University of Toronto, where she serves as Composer in Residence for the MacMillan Singers.

On why she selected “Before the Battle” for this new work for double choir, Minjoo said that it “was chosen for its profound reflection on the horrors of war and individual fear, conveying a sense of emptiness, dread, hopelessness, resignation and a faint glimmer of hope.”

We look forward to the premiere of “Before the Battle” at our upcoming concert, Sound | Space, on May 3.

About Janet Correia

Janet is an active musician and educator with 25+ years of experience in music education, collaborative accompanying, choral singing and conducting. Janet serves as Music Director at St. Luke’s Anglican Church Palermo and maintains a full private classical piano studio in Oakville.

She is the Collaborative Pianist with Myriad Ensemble, an upper voice choir in Burlington, and previously held the role of Collaborative Pianist and Associate Conductor with the Oakville Choir for Children & Youth for two decades.

An alumna of the University of Toronto, Janet holds a Bachelor of Music and a Bachelor of Education. Other credentials include a Licentiate Diploma in Piano Performance (Trinity College, England) and an Artist-Teacher Diploma from the Glenn Gould Professional School (RCM) specializing in Piano Performance and Piano Pedagogy.

Check out this article on GuelphToday.com with news about our December 19 concert, “Messiah.”

A favourite local holiday tradition returns to Guelph’s Basilica. 

The beautiful sounds of The Guelph Chamber Choir performing a baroque masterpiece that will wow audiences. Bring your friends, your family and your neighbours for a concert that will warm your heart and soul.

The Guelph Chamber Choir hosts its annual seasonal performance of “Messiah”, happening Friday, December 19, at Guelph Basilica of Our Lady Immaculate, 28 Norfolk Street in Guelph.

Make sure you’re in your seats by 7:10pm for a pre-concert talk, followed by the performance starting at 7:30pm. Now celebrating its 45^th year, the Guelph Chamber Choir aims to enrich and entertain the community at large with its 2025-2026 season.

Although Messiah was originally written for the Easter holiday, but it was adopted as more of a Christmas performance in Victorian Times and thus grew into a holiday classic. Enjoy audience favourites like “For unto us a child is born,” “All we, like sheep, have gone astray,” and “Hallelujah.”

You can read the full article on the GuelphToday.com website.

Celebrate the season with a moment from Messiah.

We’ve created an opportunity to give a unique gift and demonstrate your support for the Guelph Chamber Choir.

You can sponsor and dedicate one of your favourite Messiah choruses or arias to someone special this year.

Sponsor an Aria or Chorus

$100 – $250

Choose your favourite aria or chorus from the list below and have your name or dedication included in our concert program.

Part I

SPONSORED Ev’ry valley shall be exalted (Tenor aria)
And the glory of the Lord (Chorus)
But who may abide the day of his coming? (Alto aria)
And He shall purify  (Chorus)
O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion (Alto aria and chorus)
For unto us a child is born (Chorus)
Glory to God (Chorus)
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion (Soprano aria)
He shall feed His flock (Alto and Soprano duet)
His yoke is easy, and his burden is light (Chorus)

Part II

Get more information

Contact our General Manager at gmgcc22@gmail.com to learn more.