Our Mission: We strengthen choral music and celebrate its power.
Our Vision: Choirs Ontario - Your ultimate choral resource.Mandate: Choirs Ontario is an arts organization that promotes and celebrates choral music making in Ontario. Our members, both organizations and individuals, believe that choral music is vital to our lives and enriches society. We provide services to choirs, conductors, choristers, composers, administrators, and educators as well as anyone who enjoys listening to the sound of choral music.
Brief History: The Ontario Choral Federation was established in 1971. Its key program, the Ontario Youth Choir, was started in that same year, and has been held successfully every year but two. Our organizational name was changed to Choirs Ontario in 1999. The Junior Choir Camp program began in 1993, and has been held annually through 2003. In 2001, the Teen Choir Camp was instituted, which has been held three times. Choirs Ontario was restructured following acute financial problems in 2004.
Organizational Structure: A Board of Directors of eleven people from Ottawa, Toronto, Kingston, Guelph, and Timmins governs Choirs Ontario. A twelve member Advisory Council supports them. Our Honorary Patron is the Honourable Peter Milliken M.P. The organization is managed by the Board with an administrative assistant and many volunteers. Historically we have had several committees to manage our various programs and services.
Policy and Role: The Board of Directors currently makes all programming decisions, including consultation from the Advisory Committee as appropriate. We are one of ten provincial choral organizations, each of whom sends singers to the National Youth Choir. All ten organizations support the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors (ACCC). In 2002, Choirs Ontario hosted Podium, the national conference of the ACCC.
Constituency: We serve the Ontario choral community: professionals and amateurs, singers and audiences. We have a membership of choirs, businesses, institutions, and of individuals who love and support choral music. Our member choirs include more than 20,000 residents of Ontario. In turn, each of those choirs presents on average three concerts a year to a total audience of more than half a million people.
Our members can access our programmes and services through our website and our office. We strive to provide concrete services in answer to the needs our members articulate.
Charitable Registration Number: 03804404-22.
CharitableGST #: 11906 7536 RT0001.