Canadian Children's Opera Chorus
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The Canadian Children's Opera Chorus (CCOC) was founded in 1968 by Ruby Mercer and Lloyd Bradshaw. The Chorus consists of five divisions of approximately 240 boys and girls aged 6 to 19. The Principal Chorus has over 80 choristers, and they participate as the children's chorus in productions by the Canadian Opera Company (COC). The current artistic director/conductor is Ann Cooper Gay. The CCOC performs many times in the year; in addition to COC productions, they perform with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Soundstreams Canada, the Hannaford Street Silver Band, as well as on their own.
The CCOC's repertoire consists of a mix of traditional music and modern classical pieces. They have released five CDs.
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[edit] Commissioned works
The CCOC has commissioned a number of works in the past, including the following:
- Dragon in the Rocks (2008) (Alexander Rapoport)
- A Dickens of a Christmas (2005) (Errol Gay)/(Michael Patrick Albano)
- The Hobbit (2004) (Dean Burry)
- The Star Child (1998) (John Greer/Ned Dickens)
- The Snow Queen (1993) (John Greer/Jeremy James Taylor)
- A Midwinter Night's Dream (Harry Somers/Tim Wynne-Jones)
- Dr. Canon's Cure (Derek Holman/Robertson Davies)
- Chip and His Dog (1978) (Gian Carlo Menotti)
[edit] Discography
- Dandelion Parachutes
- Creatures Great & Small
- Sir Christëmas
- There and Back Again
- A Midwinter Night's Dream
[edit] Past musical directors
- Ann Cooper Gay (2000-present)
- John Tuttle (1985-2000)
- Derek Holman (1975-1985)
- Donald Kendrick (1974-1975)
- Lloyd Bradshaw (1968-1975)
[edit] Awards
- National Award for Outstanding Choral Record (1989) for Derek Holman's Sir Christëmas awarded by the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors
- First Prize (1992) in the CBC Radio Competition for Amateur Choirs, Children’s Choir category
- First Prize (1993) in the CBC Radio Competition for Amateur Choirs, Children’s Choir category
- Second Prize (1998) in the CBC Radio Competition for Amateur Choirs, Children’s Choir category
- Recording of A Midwinter Night's Dream Nominated for a Juno Award in 2007