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Wednesday, April 7, 2010 at 12 Noon
Roy Thomson Hall
Toronto
FREE Admission
Call 416-872-4255 for further information
The concerts are suitable for ages 6 and up
www.roythomson.com
Toronto, ON – VIVA! Youth
Singers of Toronto will perform a one-hour concert of
enchanting choral music on Wednesday, April 7 at 12 Noon,
the fourth and final concert of Roy Thomson Hall’s 2009-2010
Free Noon Hour Choir & Organ Series. The 85 choristers, ages
9 to 28, led by conductors Carol Woodward Ratzlaff and
Brad Ratzlaff, and featuring organist Michael Bloss,
perform works by contemporary British composers Bob Chilcott,
James MacMillan and John Rutter, plus the famous “Hymn to
Freedom” by Canadian jazz legend Oscar Peterson. The program also includes two organ solos by 20th
century English composers Herbert Howells and Kenneth Leighton.
VIVA! Youth Singers of Toronto was founded by Carol Woodward Ratzlaff in
2000. VIVA! is
comprised of five different choirs ranging in age from 4 to 28
with a current membership of over 120 choristers. The two choirs
participating in this performance are the Main Chorus ll
(ages 9 -16) and the Youth Choir (ages 15 - 28). For 10
years, the Main Chorus ll has been the official children’s choir
for the National Ballet of Canada’s annual December performances
of The
Nutcracker.
During the summer of 2009, these two groups toured England and
Wales; and upcoming tours include Greece and Turkey in July
2011, and Italy in 2013.
www.vivayouthsingers.com
Carol Woodward Ratzlaff, founder and Artistic Director of VIVA! Youth
Singers of Toronto, has been a member of the Elmer Iseler
Singers, the Elora Festival Singers, Toronto Consort, Arbor Oak
Trio, and many church choirs. She has taught music in public and
private schools at all levels and is currently the Vocal Music
Teacher at North Toronto Collegiate Institute (TDSB). She holds
a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of
British Columbia and an Honours Bachelor of Music from the
University of Western Ontario.
Brad Ratzlaff,
Associate Artistic Director and Accompanist of VIVA! Youth Singers of
Toronto, is also currently Music Director and Organist at
Trinity-St. Paul’s United Church and Artistic Director of the
Hart House Chorus at the University of Toronto. He holds a
Master of Music in Performance (Conducting) from the University
of Toronto, and has twice received the Elmer Iseler Fellowship
in Choral Conducting. He is a former member of the bass section
of the Concertgebuow Choir of Amsterdam, the Elora Festival
Singers and the Elmer Iseler Singers.
Michael Bloss
has served as Director of Music Ministry at Dublin Street United
Church in Guelph where he continues a distinguished tradition of
pastoral music ministry which over 30 years has included Toronto
tenures at the Cathedral Church of St. James and Timothy Eaton
Memorial Church. An international prize winner, his solo organ
career has included performances in Europe, Japan, and
throughout Canada and the USA.
Roy Thomson Hall’s Free Noon Hour Choir & Organ Concerts,
currently celebrating its 13th season, showcases
Canada’s finest choral ensembles and organists in concert, and
spotlights Roy Thomson Hall’s magnificent four-manual,
dual-console Gabriel
Kney Pipe Organ, one of the largest mechanical action
instruments in Canada.
The free concerts are generously supported by Edwards
Charitable Foundation.
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