About Our Choirs
Amabile for Girls and Women
There are five levels of auditioned choirs for girls and women within Amabile representing 150 singers active in the 2011-2012 performance year.
The Amabile Da Capo Choir welcomes girls aged 8 to 11, with a focus on providing a choral venue for young choristers and to serve as a training choir for the Junior Amabile Singers. Da Capo meets weekly for instruction in vocal production, sight singing, ear training, basic rudiments, and choral performance discipline.
The Junior Amabile Singers (JAS) was founded in 1989 to give young women between the ages of 9 - 14 an opportunity to develop an understanding of choral music, self-discipline and artistic expression. This disciplined children’s chorus is one of eight choirs in The Amabile Choirs of London, Canada. Under the direction of Jacquelyn Norman and Wendy Landon, the Junior Amabile Singers perform regularly in the London area and Southwestern Ontario in addition to seeking national and international performance opportunities. Concert tours have taken the JAS to Hawaii in 2009 (Pacific Rim Children’s Choir Festival), St. John’s, Newfoundland in 2007 (Festival 500), France, Belgium, Germany in 2004 (3rd Choir Olympics, Bremen, Germany - Gold Medal performance, 5th place), British Columbia in 2002 (10th Choral Kathaumixw, Powell River), to Austria and the Czech Republic in 2000 (1st Choir Olympics, Linz, Austria - Gold Medal performance, 5th place), to England, Scotland and Wales in 1997 (Llangollen International Eisteddfodd, Wales) and in 1995, to the Des Moines International Children’s Choral Festival (Iowa). The choir has been named national finalist in two CBC Biennial Competitions for Amateur Choirs, placing second in 2000. In 1998, the choir released its first CD entitled Canadian Portraits and their second CD, She Shall Have Music, in 2005.
The Amabile Youth Singers (AYS) welcomes experienced female choristers ages 12 to 18. Founded in 1985 by John Barron and Brenda Zadorsky, the choir has won 11 national competitions, including the 2000 CBC National Competition for Amateur Choirs Youth Category, and the Best Performance of a Canadian Work. In 2005, the AYS were awarded the London Music Award for best Classical Ensemble, also in 2007 and 2011 they were recipients of the Jack Richardson Music Award. The AYS has also won four international competitions and have most recently returned from their sixth European tour, performing in Estonia with the renowned Estonian Girls National Radio and TV Choir. Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Amabile's founding, the AYWE recorded a new CD entitled, Ripple Effect.
Prima is the women's alumnae choir formed in 2007 to provide opportunities for these young women to continue to perform challenging repertoire at the very highest possible level, and to move audiences with their artistry. Prima excels at performing the latest compositions of Canadian composers such as Sirett, Daley, Smallman and Hatfield.
On occasion, the AYS and Prima perform together as the Amabile Young Women's Ensemble (AYWE). This ensemble is a highlight of Amabile mentoring program offering our young singers the opportunity to perform and share their talents with the mature female voices of London's finest musicians.
Amabile for Boys and Men
The Amabile Boys & Men's Choirs were founded in 1990 to provide musical experiences of the highest level for male singers in Southwestern Ontario. Directed by Dr. Carol Beynon and Ken Fleet, the focus is on character development through singing and artistic excellence. Trebles whose voices change have immediate access to the tenor-bass youth choir and opportunities to continue their vocal and musical education.
The Treble Training Choir (TTC) welcomes boys with unchanged voices, ages 8 and up. For many boys who audition, this training choir is their first experience with choral singing. They have fun working together as they gain experience singing and performing, while learning proper vocal technique, posture, breathing, tone production, how to read music and basic music theory. They also study recorders and drumming.
Experienced male singers with unchanged voices, ranging from 10 to 15 years old, become members of the Treble Concert Choir (TCC). Their program consists of rehearsals and performances of the traditional boychoir repertoire and Grade 1 Theory & Rudiments. This choir performs in the regular Amabile concert series and tours locally, nationally and internationally. As well as singing on world stages, they have been guest performers with Orchestra London, the Windsor Symphony and the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony.
The Young Men's Choir (YM) made up of young men with changing voices up to the age of 19. This choir focuses on healthy vocal development and provides an introduction to challenging male voice repertoire. Performing locally, nationally and internationally, they have been featured several times on CBC, Radio L'espace, French public television, and Czech Public Radio and were winners of the National CBC Choral Competition for Youth Choirs – Equal Voice Male in 2004 and 2008.
Primus: Amabile Men's Choir is known for its deeply sonorous and rich sound that rewards listeners with a strong identity without sacrificing the sound of one uniform voice. Formed in the fall of 2000, Primus involves students and professionals in all walks of life who enjoy the pursuit of the choral art and the camaraderie that develops so naturally in male ensembles. The members act as active mentors to the high school choristers and boys in the treble choirs of the Amabile organization. The men also provide leadership development workshops on a regular basis for music educators, university music education classes, and students in schools, promoting the healthy benefits of being a male singer. In its short history, the choir has achieved an international reputation that places it in a leading position in the world of male choral singing. Primus was thrilled to be invited to perform for choral conductors at two of the world's largest conferences, the Sixth World Choral Symposium in Minneapolis (2002) and the national convention of the American Choral Directors Association in Los Angeles (2005). The men have also been honoured to act as choir-in-residence for the 1st World Festival of Singing for Men and Boys in Prague during 2004 and were again invited to co-host the event in the 2008 season. This role provided Primus with the opportunity to showcase a strong Canadian presence on the world stage. During the 2008 season, Primus also won the National CBC Choral Competition Equal Voice Male Category. Locally, Primus has performed with the renowned Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and been invited to perform at national meetings of the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors (2002, 2006). The choir was also featured in the CBC Radio 1 documentary, Where Have All the Tenors Gone? Most recently, in October of 2011, Primus was invited to be a guest artist of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
The Amabile Young Men's Ensemble (AYME) is made up of singers from YM and Primus. Increased international recognition has opened up exciting opportunities for these men to showcase their talents in music festivals and showcases around the world, including recent visits to Prague, Vienna, and California. Highlights of past years include performing with the internationally renowned Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, the King Singers, Cantus, Chor Leoni and the Harvard Men's Glee Club. In July 2008, these men played took key leadership roles when Amabile co-hosted a total of 600 choristers at the 2nd International Boys and Men's Choral Festival in the Czech Republic in leadership with the renowned Czech Boys Choir, Boni Pueri.