“Into the Woods” is the opening number in a musical written by Stephen Sondheim. The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales, exploring the consequences of the characters’ wishes and quests. Through the musical we observe how our life stories begin with dreams and wishes that sometimes become reality and, sometimes offer us surprises! Into the woods without delay, but careful not to lose the way. Into the woods, who knows what may be lurking on the journey! ….and Into the woods to get the thing that makes it work the journeying.
‘Magical Kingdom’ is written by well-known UK choral composer, John Rutter. Each chorus of “Once Upon a Time” encourages us to imagine the wonderful experiences in our lives that will become part of our own “Once Upon a Time” stories.
‘Streets of London’ written in 1969 by Ralph McTell, contrasts the common problems of everyday people with those of the homeless, lonely, elderly, ignored and forgotten members of society.
“No Time” arranged by Susan Brumfield blends two traditional camp meeting songs. While the songs originate from a Christian context we challenged our Encore singers of what ‘journeying home’ means to them. Many felt the texts invoked images of journeying to a place of comfort and hope in our lives.
‘Streets of London’ written in 1969 by Ralph McTell, contrasts the common problems of everyday people with those of the homeless, lonely, elderly, ignored and forgotten members of society.
‘Friday Afternoons’ is a set of 12 pieces written for treble choir by Benjamin Britten. Benjamin Britten’s brother was the choirmaster at a school in Wales and was looking for songs to sing with his boys choir that were easy-to-learn, fun to sing and mostly in unison. The collection is called ‘Friday Afternoons’ because the choir rehearsed on Friday Afternoons! The “Cuckoo” arrives in the UK in April, sings in May, slightly changes their tune in June and begins their journey south again in July and August.
Noel des enfants qui n’ont plus de maisons (Christmas Carol for Homeless Children) was composed by Claude Debussy during World War 1 in response to the destruction of villages in France, Belgium, and Poland. More a political statement than a Christmas song, Debussy’s own poem depicts orphaned French children praying that the Germans will have no Christmas and that Christ will abandon them. In this piece you will hear a list of the losses the children have experienced as well as hope that they will be victorious in the end.
Nous n’avons plus de maisons!
Les ennemis ont tout pris,
Tout pris, tout pris,
Jusqu’à notre petit lit!
Ils ont brûlé l’école et notre maître aussi.
Ils ont brûlé l’église et monsieur Jésus-Christ
Et le vieux pauvre qui n’a pas pu s’en aller!
Nous n’avons plus de maisons!
Les ennemis ont tout pris,
Tout pris, tout pris,
Jusqu’à notre petit lit!
Bien sûr! papa est à la guerre,
Pauvre maman est morte!
Avant d’avoir vu tout ça.
Qu’est-ce que l’on va faire?
Noël! petit Noël! n’allez pas chez eux,
N’allez plus jamais chez eux,
Punissez-les!
Vengez les enfants de France!
Les petits Belges, les petits Serbes,
Et les petits Polonais aussi!
Si nous en oublions, pardonnez-nous.
Noël! Noël! surtout, pas de joujoux,
Tâchez de nous redonner le pain quotidien.
Nous n’avons plus de maisons!
Noël! écoutez-nous, nous n’avons plus de petits sabots:
Mais donnez la victoire aux enfants de France!
We’ve no houses any more!
The enemy have taken everything,
everything, everything,
even our little beds!
They’ve burned the school and our teacher too.
They’ve burned the church and Mister Jesus
and the poor old man who couldn’t escape!
We’ve no houses any more!
The enemy have taken everything,
everything, everything,
even our little beds!
Of course! Daddy’s at the war,
poor mother died!
Before seeing all this.
What are we to do?
Noël, little Noël, don’t visit them,
don’t visit them ever again,
punish them!
Avenge the children of France!
The little Belgians, the little Serbs,
and also the little Poles!
If we’ve forgotten any, forgive us.
Noël! Noël! And above all, no toys,
try to give us back our daily bread.
We’ve no houses any more!
Noël! Hear us, we no longer have our little clogs:
but give victory to the children of France!
Translation © Richard Stokes, author of A French Song Companion (Oxford, 2000)
Ton Thé is a well-known tongue twister which translates as “Your tea? Has it removed your cough?”
Wau Bulan is a folk song and dance that originates from Malaysia. It is performed in the Dikir Barat style whereby performers sit in rows on the floor to sing and do choreographed hand and body movements. Wau Bulan describes the beauty of the Malaysian kite (wau) with a rounded bottom shaped like a half moon (bulan) as it flies up high in the sky.
Composer, Dr. Tracy Wong is from Malaysia and is a well-respected choral conductor, music educator, vocalist and pianist.
‘Carol of the Bells’ is a very popular and well-known song often sung during the Christmas season. This song is a traditional Ukrainian New Year’s song, known in English as “The Little Swallow. It was arranged by composer and teacher Mykola Leontovych in 1916 and tells a story of a swallow flying into a household to sing of the wealth that will come with the following spring.
The song was adapted by Peter J. Wilhousky following a performance of the original song by the Ukrainian National Chorus at Carnegie Hall in 1922. Wilhousky copyrighted and published his new lyrics (which were not based on the Ukrainian lyrics) in 1936, and the song became popular in the United States and Canada, where it has become strongly associated with Christmas.
From the book A Porcupine in a Pine Tree: A Canadian 12 Days of Christmas. Text copyright © 2010 by Helaine Becker. Illustrations copyright © 2010 by Werner Zimmermann. Published by Scholastic Canada Ltd. Used by permission of the publisher. Arranged by Matthew Otto.
“A Porcupine in a Pine Tree – A Canadian Twelve Days of Christmas” is based on the book written by Helaine Becker and illustrated by Werner Zimmerman. In 2019, Matthew Otto created this fun arrangement for the Toronto Children’s Chorus. As you enjoy “A Porcupine” listen for short quotations from the following pieces of music: O Canada, J’entends le moulin (Quebec folk song), The Moose Song, I’se the B’y (a traditional Newfoundland folk song), the Theme to Mr. Dressup, Music Box Dancer by Frank Mills, the theme to The Hinterland Who’s Who, the Maple Leaf Rag by Scott Joplin and My Heart Will Go On (as sung by Céline Dion, composed by James Horner).
Dr. Matthew Otto (he/him) is an award-winning Canadian conductor, educator, and collaborator. With unparalleled dedication to choral music education, Matthew strives to develop artistic excellence, vocal integrity, and empowerment in singers of all ages.
Now residing on the unceded ancestral homeland of the Ramaytush Ohlone peoples, Matthew is the artistic director of the Young Women’s Choral Projects of San Francisco. At YWCP, Matthew conducts the premier ensemble, the Young Women’s Chorus, and oversees their six levels of ensembles for young women ages 4-18.
For nearly 20 years, Matthew was embedded in the Toronto choral scene. From 2010-2023, Matthew served on faculty of the world-renowned Toronto Children’s Chorus, including as Director of Education and Interim Artistic Director. The TCC has also premiered many of his treble arrangements and compositions, one of which was “A Porcupine in a Pine Tree”!!
ANDY MORRIS, pacifist, hits things for a living. His passion for making things with his hands, weather music or instruments has resulted in a fun journey around the globe. Based in Toronto he maintains a busy freelance career as both an orchestral musician as timpanist for such groups as the Elora festival, the Canadian Chinese Culture Association, Flute in the Wild, the Toronto production of The Lion King and many others. Andy works in recordings as well appearing on multiple TV and film scores, 33 albums and countless jingles to date. The most fun is often had backing up a menagerie of visiting artists such as Aretha Franklin, Sarah McLachlan, Andreas Bocelli, Yes, Roger Hogdson, Olivia Newton-John, and Frank Sinatra Jr. He has toured the world with John Wyre’s heartbeat Ensemble, Patricia O’Calaghan and his award- winning trio Zebra Schvungk. If he is not banging a drum he can be found banging a hammer as the founder of Dream Cymbals, dedicated to making blissful,
energetic hand crafted instruments.
CAROLE ANDERSON received her Bachelor of Music at the University of Western Ontario where she studied choral conducting with Deral Johnson. During her 35-year teaching career Carole taught music at all grade levels and was a music consultant in both Brant and Peel Districts. Retired in 2013 from the Peel District School Board, Carole taught for the last 15 years at Thomas Street Middle School in Mississauga where her choral and concert band ensembles were recognized for excellence at local, regional and national festivals. At the 2011 National Music Festival of Canada the Thomas Street Middle School Chamber Choir was awarded First Place in the David Ouchterlony class and was selected by the adjudicators to receive the Paul J. Bourret Grand Choral Award. In the fall of 2012 Carole was honoured by the Ontario Music Educators’ Association with an Honorary Life Membership. From September 2006 to August 2020 Carole was an Associate Conductor with the Toronto Children’s Chorus conducting Training Choir 1, Training Choir II and Cantare, the junior half of the Toronto Children’s Chorus Main Choir.
ELIZABETH CATTELL has been directing choirs and working with children in the arts for over 35 years. She has been a part of the Young Voices Community for six years. In addition to her work with YVT, Elizabeth is a faculty member at the Royal Conservatory of Music as a conductor for the children’s choirs and summer music camp program. A retired teacher, Elizabeth previously worked with primary and junior students in choral, dance, drama, and Orff education. Throughout her career, Elizabeth focused on providing children with choral and integrated arts experiences as well as a variety of community outreach opportunities. Some highlights include performances at the Kiwanis Music Festival, George Weston Recital Hall, Massey Hall, and Orff workshops at various levels.
Elizabeth is delighted to be part of this choral community.
EMILY PARKER is a Toronto-based conductor and singer. Emily holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Toronto, where she majored in voice and studied conducting. In addition to her position with Toronto Young Voices, Emily works with MSC choirs as director of its soprano-alto choir Duende, and associate conductor of its concert choir Frisson. Emily has also worked with the Etobicoke Centennial Choir as intern conductor, and the Kingsway-Lambton United Church’s Junior Choir as assistant conductor. Emily’s passion for choral singing emerged at a young age while participating in the Toronto Children’s Chorus, and today she sings professionally with a number of choral groups including the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, the Toronto Festival Singers, and the Senior Choir at Kingsway-Lambton United Church. Herextensive choral background includes participation in the National Youth Choir of Canada, the Orpheus Choir of Toronto, the Ontario Youth Choir, the University of Toronto’s MacMillan Singers, and the Canadian Renaissance Music Summer School.
Emily loves sharing music with others, and teaches from her private voice and piano studio.
TYRESE WALTERS is a graduate of Western University with a Bachelor of Music with Honours in Voice Performance, where he studied Voice with Prof. Torin Chiles and Conducting with Prof. Kathleen Allan and Dr. Mark Ramsay. In his final year at Western, he co-lead and co-conducted the Student Choral Initiative, a 20 member choir, within the Faculty of Music. He is the recipient of many awards and scholarships, including the Richard G. Manuel Music Award (2022), and the Deral Johnson Award (2022). Tyrese is continuing his studies at the University of Toronto where he will complete a Master of Music in Choral Conducting under the direction of Dr. Jamie Hillman.
Tyrese is an experienced choral singer and conductor. He is the conductor of the low-voice ensemble, “Rocambolesco,” and an associate conductor of the 60-voice youth choir “Frisson” in the MSC Choirs organization. He is the Assistant Conductor of “Encore” in the Young Voices Toronto organization. Currently, he sings in the Nathaniel Dett Chorale and Concreamus Chamber Singers.
JAI EUN YOO is in her third season as Collaborative Pianist with Young Voices Toronto. Before joining this organization, she spent 12 years working as a Collaborative Pianist for the Toronto Children’s Chorus and for the Toronto Korean Children’s Choir. She currently works with the Ontario Male Chorus as an accompanist and conducts the choir at East Faith Presbyterian Church in Oakville. She earned both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in piano performance at Yonsei University, South Korea, on full scholarship.
Before emigrating to Canada, Jai spent her time working in South Korea as part of the teaching faculty of the Korean Conservatory of Music, and as a professional accompanist. Although English is not her first language, she is excited to share her passion for music with the rest of the YVT artistic team!
Born in the mountains of upstate New York, Toronto-based pianist KEVIN STOLZ holds a Bachelor of Music in jazz and contemporary keyboards from Humber College in Toronto and a Master of Music in classical collaborative piano performance from the University of Toronto. Kevin currently performs throughout the Greater Toronto Area in a wide variety of settings, including as a vocal coach, church musician, choir accompanist, and wedding band keyboardist, in addition to pursuing various solo projects.
CAROLINE is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, performer, musical educator and conductor who is passionate about sharing the gift of music. She has had the joy and pleasure of performing in various orchestral and choral groups in so many of our wonderful venues such as Roy Thomson Hall, Toronto Centre for the Performing Arts and Koerner Hall and in some of the most beautiful churches across Toronto. She has also enjoyed working with many primary and junior choirs under the direction of Elizabeth Cattell. Caroline frequently lends her vocal, piano, flute, recorder and cello skills as one of the worship team leaders at Kingsway Baptist church. She is a graduate of University of Toronto and also holds an Associate Diploma in Piano Performance and soon to be Voice from the Royal Conservatory of Music.
Caroline is thrilled to be joining the Young Voices Toronto family working alongside so many talented people.
Aviva Berman
Leena Bharati
Cahir Connell
Ronen Dekel
Isabel Gordon
Aaron Holt
Oliver Keenan-Mundle
Violet Kerr
Alexandria Lewis
Juno Luckhart
Olivia Martin
Veronica Melino
Leilani Ung
Marella Wobick
Karina Andary
Aylie Ashoo
Shoshana Berman
Zia Bethune
Evelyn Bilan
Addison Burke
Elodie Ekers
Jamie Fang
Freyja Gass-Donnelly
Eden Hansen
Angus Hood
Rauga Huggan
Valentina Iannopollo
Amina Ismail
Scarlett Isono
Maggie Knight
Courtney Lewis
Adalyn Marlowe – Hodge
Noelle McCready
Elspeth Mcmillan
Lazar Molodenski
Karina Palmer
Matthew Reynolds
Eleanor Ross-Gibson
Zain Shivji
Rosalia Szasz
Abigail Tysoe
Evelyn Von Hagen
Chloe Vuong
Clara Yehia
Daniel Zhao
May Adair Rooney
Mariia Alymova
Leila Backus
Elodie Baker
Felix Bilan
Megan Black
Kennedy Brooks
Piper Ekers
Ophelia Francescutti
Maeve Gionet
Poppy Gosse
Sydney Hamel
Harmony Holder
Anya Jitomirski
Millicent Keith-Sgouros
Ava Klasios
Elaine Klasios
Maeve Lalonde
Claire McNabb
Sydney Miller
Samantha Moen
Oliver Paterson
Kaley Rajmoolie
Sloan Reyes
Madeleine Romano
Anna Ross-Gibson
Elizabeth Rutagonya
Nia Sambhare
Surya Shukla
Siena Tharani
Audrey Van Dam
Sarah Williams
Amaara Wilson-Thomas
Katherine Betz
Amelia Greenblatt
Rowan Hansen
Eva Laurinaviciute
Katya Lozanovska
Paige Malcolm
Allegra Olivieri
Rosanna Scopacasa
Xavier Tradewell-Hutchins
Nancy Wanigatunga
Loyse Ageorges Pigeon
Katherine Betz
Asha Buliung
Claire Cassidy
Madison Carey-Hill
Grace Elinesky
Margaret Fang
Anders Frejd
Mason Friesner
Amelia Greenblatt
Mairead Guy
Rowan Hansen
Rebekah Joy KimPhin
Markas Laurinavicius
Eva Laurinaviciute
Katya Lozanovska
Paige Malcolm
Ariana Mangion
Pascale Michelin
Alexandra Moen
Allegra Olivieri
Roma Piderit
Rosanna Scopacasa
Anna Simonyi
Xavier Tradewell-Hutchins
Nancy Wanigatunga
Sam Wilkinson
Anik Bernaus Townsend
Bernat Bernaus Townsend
Katherine Betz
Elinor Carter
Olivia Carter
Gregory Conliffe
Isaak Dowhaniuk
Carson Earle
Amelia Greenblatt
Rowan Hansen
Kailey Kolodzie
Eva Laurinaviciute
William Lewis
Katya Lozanovska
Matea Lozanovska
Paige Malcolm
Allegra Olivieri
Elise Piccolo
Rosanna Scopacasa
Clara Scott
Aaron Spicer
Xavier Tradewell-Hutchins
Nancy Wanigatunga