In June 1994, the Upper Canada Choristers held their first outreach concert at Sunnybrook Hospital. Their music has repeatedly transformed lives, eliciting joy and participation from non-verbal patients. In various healthcare settings, their performances have revealed hidden abilities and brought profound emotional responses, demonstrating music's healing power.

“Joining the Upper Canada Choristers without auditions was crucial for me. Despite past musical experience, singing in an organized choir was new and intimidating. The choir's commitment to community concerts, especially in nursing homes and hospitals, is profoundly rewarding. Laurie Evan Fraser, our artistic director, and Jacqui Atkin, co-founder, are invaluable to our success.”

The Upper Canada Choristers have a history of showcasing multicultural music from many world traditions. In 2008, they founded Cantemos, an ensemble formed with choir members from Colombia and Venezuela. Despite initial growing pains, the choir's anthem, "Blessing-Bendición," was written to celebrate cultural inclusion.

What did “New Beginnings” mean for Upper Canada Chorister, after the sudden withdrawal of a major new composition? It resulted in four brand new songs created by composers of various ages, musical backgrounds, and life stories.

Led by the creative vision of Otto Pierre, the new uniform features variations that allow members to express themselves while staying true to the choir's identity. With a carefully curated colour palette and a range of garment combinations, the choir is set to debut their stylish new look at their upcoming 30th Anniversary concert.

Finding Upper Canada Choristers was a game-changer for Janet Leader. The support she received at that time made a tremendous difference – to the extent that not only did she rejoin the choir in September 2022, but she continues to attend our weekly rehearsals, via Zoom, whenever she is back in St. Kitts.

As part of the concert Our Voices Together: Corazones al Unísono. Performed against a filmed, kaleidoscopic background of visual arts. The concert featured 3 pieces of music created for the UCC and Cantemos through commissions and collaborations. This international arts collaboration project featured a shadow puppet theatre production from Barcelona, Spain; an illustration from Toronto, Canada; and a dance performance from Boston, USA.

When Laura Morales Balza was asked to write the lyrics for Cantemos, she considered it a gift. The Bird I Await is a prayer of grief, hope, daydreaming, infinite certainty, and strength. It is a contemplation of nature, through the universal song of a bird.

While participating at the conference PODIUM in Toronto in 2002, Laurie and Jacqui approached Canadian composer Stephen Chatman with the hopes to commission a choral work for our 10th anniversary, only when they match his talent with the words by the poetry of Archibald Lampman, Voices of Earth was created.

Our choristers spoke! Read about why some of them joined the choir - and what it came to mean to them, especially during the times of Covid.

donna g interviews Jacinto Salcedo for the CIUT radio show The More the Merrier

Meet Jannie and Paul Mills One of UCC’s long-standing couples… and supporters!

Part 2 of the story behind the concert. By Upper Canada Choristers, Temple Sinai Ensemble Choir, the Toronto Jewish Folk Choir, Cantor Charles Osborne during Holocaust Education Week 2013.

This is the story behind the concert. By Upper Canada Choristers, Temple Sinai Ensemble Choir, the Toronto Jewish Folk Choir, Cantor Charles Osborne during Holocaust Education Week 2013.

Despite the rigours and challenges of choir life during a global pandemic, UCC has been fortunate to be joined by two new members, both with decades of experience in choral singing.

I came to Canada in the fall of 2007 with my wife and two daughters. We landed in Toronto with big hopes for a better future. Little I knew how important singing was for me.

The catalyst for Comfort and Joy, however, was two-part – a response to the raging Covid-19 pandemic and, as importantly, the recent death of Bill Briggs, a beloved and long-time tenor in the choir.