Magic Of Christmas

The Toronto Mendelssohn Youth Choir celebrated its 21st anniversary this past year! The choir was founded in 1977 by its parent organisation, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in the 1994-95 season, making the TMC Canada's oldest performing arts institution. The Toronto Mendelssohn Youth Choir (or "TMYC") is an important part of the Mendelssohn Choir family and has earned admiration and distinction for its musical achievements. The TMYC is made up of approximately 70 young adults between the ages of 15 and 22, drawn from all over the Greater Toronto Area; it was created to supplement the music programs offered in high schools and universities and is a multicultural ensemble whose official language is singing. The superb quality of the TMYC's music-making is such that one critic called it "...one of the most exciting choirs in the country". In addition to presenting its own concerts, the Toronto Mendelssohn Youth Choir has made guest appearances with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and numerous Toronto-area community groups. Its previous engagements have included performances at the Guelph Spring Festival, Roy Thomson Hall, Massey Hall, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir's 90th anniversary concert, "The Magic of Christmas" with guest conductor and composer John Rutter, the Toronto premiere performance of the jazz mass Missa Gaia with the Paul Winter Consort during the 1989 International Choral Festival and the Canadian premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Requiem during International Youth Year. In August of 1997, the Youth Choir returned from a very successful two-week concert tour of Italy, its first international tour, which was undertaken in co-operation with the Centro Scuola e Cultura Italiana di Toronto. In May 1986, the choir toured British Columbia and visited Expo '86. The choir's 10th anniversary in 1987 was the occasion of a celebration that included the premiere performance of a specially commissioned work by Derek Holman, Laudes Creationis. On April 20, 1993 the TMYC returned to Roy Thomson Hall for a performance with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir under the direction of Elmer Iseler and in June 1993, together with the Opera in Concert Chorus and the Niagara Children's Chorus, performed the Canadian premiere of Benjamin Britten's The Company of Heaven at the International Choral Festival under the direction of Robert Cooper. In April 1994 the TMYC had the honour of acting as the test choir for the Leslie Bell Choral Conductor's Competition. As well, the TMYC performs frequently in concert with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, most recently in the best-of-Broadway programme Broadway Spectacular in April 1998.