The Canadian Chamber Choir (CCC) will visit Ontario this September for a series of performances with singer/composer Sherryl Sewepagaham.
The 11-day trek marks the ensemble’s first performances in Huntsville, North Bay and Kagawong, and first return to Toronto since 2006. Although the CCC and Sewepagaham visited Owen Sound just last summer, they are excited to return as one of the headlining artists for the 2024 SweetWater Music Festival.
“It is exciting to get to venture a bit further into the near north of Ontario,” says CCC artistic director, Dr. Julia Davids, who is also a founding member of the ensemble. “I grew up spending a lot of time with my family in this part of Ontario. A September tour will mean some spectacular fall colour and experiences with the many lakes and landscapes.”
Activities will begin with a morning choral retreat in Toronto alongside Pax Christi Chorale and Exultate Chamber Singers, culminating in an afternoon concert on September 7 with Babεl – a local ensemble known for its cultural intersections. After an afternoon concert in Huntsville on September 8 and a performance with Near North Voices in North Bay on September 9, the CCC and Sewepagaham will head to Manitoulin Island to sing in Kagawong on September 11. A performance aboard the MS Chi-Cheemaun on September 12 will get them closer to Owen Sound – their final stop – where they will participate in three performances at the SweetWater Festival between September 14 and 15.
“What a way to finish the tour, with world premieres of pieces by Matthias McIntire and Lembit Beecher, collaborating with some of Canada’s finest musicians,” says Davids.
The singers of the CCC – 22 in total – hail from all regions of Canada, from British Columbia to the Northwest Territories to Newfoundland. Since its founding in 1999, the organization has embarked on twice-yearly tours and is Canada’s only professional choir with national representation. In tandem with the organization’s commitment to offering audiences engaging, musically dynamic performances, the CCC singers are recognized leaders and innovators in choral education and community engagement.
“Our mandate is to build up and support choral community in as many different places and spaces as we have the privilege of entering,” said CCC associate conductor Dr. Joel Tranquilla. “Our singers bring with them a rich and diverse range of lived and professional experiences. We are constantly being shaped by our interactions with one another and with the communities we enter.”
A particularly meaningful aspect of the tour is the opportunity to engage and learn in reciprocity with cultural communities, including Indigenous knowledge-keepers and Elders. Sewepagaham is Cree-Dene, from the Little Red River Cree Nation in Northern Alberta. She joins forces with the CCC on their joint album, Where Waters Meet, which will be released worldwide on September 6. The project serves as both a celebration and a call to action, urging communities to recognize the beauty and necessity of preserving water resources and Indigenous languages for generations to come.
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