Toronto Northern Lights

The Toronto Northern Lights (TNL) is a Toronto, Ontario-based men's chorus of about 75 singers drawn from the Ontario District of the Barbershop Harmony Society. They won the title of Barbershop Harmony Society International Chorus Champions in July 2013 by a margin of two points over the two-time champion Westminster Chorus.[1] The chorus had also earned the silver medal at five consecutive International Chorus Competitions (2001 to 2005), as well as bronze medals in 2000, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011.

With 34 men on stage in Kansas City in 2000, they were recognized as the smallest chorus to ever receive a medal at the International competition and have been considered instrumental in shifting the perception that a smaller chorus could not compete at the highest levels within the singing society.

TNL's expansive repertoire ranges from Barbershop to Broadway, Vocal Jazz to Doo-Wop, and from Gershwin to the Beatles.

TNL has been guest performers in Dortmund, Germany in March 2006 at the BinG! (Barbershop in Germany) convention and at the BABS (British Association of Barbershop Singers) convention in Cheltenham, England in May 2008. In August 2010, they participated in the Vocal International Music Festival in Venray, Holland hosted by the Venray Mannenkorps as part of their 100th anniversary. In September 2012 the group traveled to Beijing, China and performed in the Forbidden City Concert Hall and on the Great Wall of China. In the Spring of 2015 the chorus traveled to Derby, England, Landau, Germany, and finally Stockholm and Nykoping, Sweden, as guests on various shows and the special guest at the Society of Nordic Barbershop Singers convention in Sweden.[2]

Although Toronto is their home base, the chorus draws members from a large area, up to 200 miles, for rehearsals. Members hail from as far as Buffalo, to Ottawa, to Detroit.

The chorus attracts members from a wide range of ages, backgrounds and employment; from twenty-year-old university students, to business professionals, to men in retirement.

The chorus had released five CDs as of 2012.

The Toronto Northern Lights CD titled The Sky's The Limit was recorded at Metalworks Studios in Mississauga, Ontario.

Discography

Awards and recognition

Year Award Contest Location and Date
1998 District Champions Ontario District Chorus Competition Toronto, Ontario
October 24, 1998
2000 Winner CBC / Radio-Canada National Radio Competition for Amateur Choirs (Cultural Traditions Category)  
2000 5th place Bronze Medalists Barbershop Harmony Society International Competition Kansas City, Missouri
July 8, 2000
2001 2nd Place Silver Medalists Barbershop Harmony Society International Competition Nashville, Tennessee
July 7, 2001
2002 2nd Place Silver Medalists Barbershop Harmony Society International Competition Portland, Oregon
July 6, 2002
2003 2nd Place Silver Medalists Barbershop Harmony Society International Competition Montreal, Quebec
July 5, 2003
2004 2nd Place Silver Medalists Barbershop Harmony Society International Competition Louisville, Kentucky
July 3, 2004
2005 2nd Place Silver Medalists Barbershop Harmony Society International Competition Salt Lake City, Utah
July 9, 2005
2006 3rd place Bronze Medalists Barbershop Harmony Society International Competition Indianapolis, Indiana
July 7, 2006
2007 4th place Bronze Medalists Barbershop Harmony Society International Competition Denver, Colorado
July 6, 2007
2009 5th place Bronze Medalists Barbershop Harmony Society International Competition Anaheim, California
July 3, 2009
2010 3rd place Bronze Medalists Barbershop Harmony Society International Competition Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
July 8, 2010
2011 3rd place Bronze Medalists (tied) Barbershop Harmony Society International Competition Kansas City, Missouri
July 6, 2011
2013 1st place Gold Medalists Barbershop Harmony Society International Competition Toronto, Ontario, Canada
July 5, 2013

References

  1. ↑ Daubs, Katie (July 5, 2013). "Toronto's barbershop a cut above in singing showdown". The Toronto Star. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
  2. ↑ "A Cappella till Max!". Facebook. SNOBS. February 11, 2015. Retrieved February 20, 2015.


Preceded by
Ambassadors of Harmony		 Barbershop Harmony Society International Chorus Champions
2013 		Succeeded by
Vocal Majority
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