Artists

Biography:

The Vancouver Chamber Choir is Canada’s longest-running fully professional choral ensemble. Formed in 1971 by Founder and Conductor Emeritus Jon Washburn, the choir has become an amazing success story, ranking with the handful of North America’s best professional choruses and noted for its diverse repertoire and performing excellence. The choir has presented concerts at home in Vancouver and on tour across Canada. International excursions have taken them to the USA, Mexico, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Finland, France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine. Artistic Director Kari Turunen began leading the Vancouver Chamber Choir in September 2019, its 49^th concert season.

Honoured with the Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence by Chorus America, the choir has performed countless concerts and broadcasts, has released nearly 40 recordings and has received numerous awards. Foremost supporters of Canadian music, they are responsible for commissions and premieres of over 400 choral works by 150 composers and arrangers, most of whom are Canadian.

Over the years the choir has sung over 4,000 performances of works by Canadian composers, in addition to their extensive international repertoire.

The choir’s award-winning educational programs include the Conductors’ Symposium for advanced choral conductors, Interplay interactive workshops for choral composers, Focus professional development program for student singers, OnSite visitations for school choirs, the biennial Young Composers’ Competition, and many on-tour workshops and residencies.