This season brought inspired performances of Bach Cantatas, the St. John Passion and works by French composers, Charpentier and Martin, plus a special Christmas concert to celebrate the launch A Christmas Story. In addition to the main subscription series, the choir was invited to perform in the prestigious Choir and Organ Series at Toronto’s Roy Thompson Hall, the Montreal Bach Festival and travelled to Nova Scotia for performances in Halifax, Wolfville and at the festival Musique St-Bernard.

This season, the Ottawa Bach Choir expanded its repertoire of Bach’s greatest works with a glorious performance of the Mass in B minor, performing with some of the the best voices and instrumentalists in the world. The culmination of the work the Choir achieved thus far was highlighted with the release of its first CD, Festival Baroque, and its first tour to Europe with performances in Prague, Stuttgart and in the Motette series at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, Germany, the home of J.S. Bach for 27 years.

Highlights of the Ottawa Bach Choir’s second season included a well received performance of Bach’s Weihnachts-Oratorium(Christmas Oratorio), a trip to Mexico City to perform Handel’s Messiah with the Orquesta del Nuevo Mundo and concerts of 20th century French repertoire and early German baroque works in Ottawa and Montreal.

The Ottawa Bach Choir’s first season included some of the top works by baroque composers, including the St. Matthew Passion, Six Motets, Magnificat in D and Missa in G minor by Bach, as well as Handel’s Dixit Dominus and the Musikalische Exequien by Schütz.

DONATE BETWEEN JUNE 1 AND JUNE 30, 2016

The Great Canadian Giving Challenge is a contest sponsored by CanadaHelps that will give the Ottawa Bach Choir a chance to win a $10,000 prize! Every dollar donated between June 1 and June 30 gives the choir another chance at winning the grand prize. All donations will receive a tax receipt issued by CanadaHelps on behalf of the Ottawa Bach Choir.

Please consider giving through this wonderful opportunity so that the OBC can share with you a special 15th anniversary season in 2016-2017. Sponsor Ottawa’s professional choir in one of the following suggested categories, or with another amount that is meaningful for you:

• Student Chorister: $250 
• Community & Educational Outreach: $500 
• Professional Chorister: 1,000
• Soloist: $1,500
• Canadian Composer: $2,500
• A Cappella Concert: $5,000
• Sponsor our upcoming 6th CD: $7,500
• Concert with Orchestra: $10,000

Thank you for making us a part of your musical life!

Participate by clicking the image above, or by visiting https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/the-ottawa-bach-choir/#donate_now

The Ottawa Bach Choir (OBC), along with organist Matthew Larkin and Ensemble Caprice Baroque Orchestra, will be taking its music to China with an invitation to perform at the prestigious Meet in Beijing festival in April 2016. The OBC will be performing several concerts, including masterclasses led by artistic director Dr. Lisette Canton, in Beijing and Shanghai. This will include performing in the Opening Ceremonies of the festival with the Symphony Orchestra of the National Opera of China. Performance venues will comprise the National Centre for the Performing Arts, the Concert Hall at the Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre, and the Beijing Concert Hall.

The OBC will be performing the works of several Baroque masters, including J.S. Bach, and Canadian works by Healey Willan, Rupert Lang, Leonard Enns, Diane Loomer and Harry Somers, among others. The members of the OBC will also be polishing their Mandarin as they present the Chinese folksong Mo Li Hua.

The OBC is very excited to be invited to China after its recent invitation to perform at the Bachfest Leipzig 2014 at the Thomaskirche, in Leipzig, Germany, as the first Canadian choir ever to be invited. The OBC is happy to include the tour in its season along with its subscription series, intimate concerts, community outreach, and a CD recording planned in this season of choral wonders.

The Ottawa Bach Choir was founded in 2002 by Dr. Lisette Canton and offers a wide range of choral music from all historical periods, featuring some of Canada’s top choristers. With the combination of a scholarly and emotional approach, the OBC provides an unforgettable experience of choral music at its best. The OBC has toured extensively in Canada, the United States, and Europe. The OBC has also been invited to perform in many other festivals in Ottawa, Quebec City, and most recently in Toronto at the Luminato Festival performing in the much-anticipated Apocalypsis by Canada’s own R. Murray Schafer.

The Ottawa Bach Choir (OBC) presents its final subscription concert in this season of magnificent choral works: Charpentier: Messe à quatre chœurs; Langlais: Messe solennelle, Saturday, May 7, 2016, 8PM, at Christ Church Cathedral, 439 Queen Street, Ottawa. This concert also features organist Matthew Larkin in this grand setting in Ottawa’s Anglican cathedral.

Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s rarely performed Mass for Four Choirs is stylistic of the 17th century Italian polychoral form, typical of Gabrieli, which Charpentier was most-likely exposed to during a brief period of study in Rome. The second half of the concert is a modern juxtaposition of the first with Jean Langlais’ Solemn Mass (written in 1949), composed for four-part choir, completing this sublime concert.

The Ottawa Bach Choir was founded in 2002 by Dr. Lisette Canton and offers a wide range of choral music from all historical periods, featuring some of Canada’s top choristers. With the combination of a scholarly and emotional approach, the OBC provides an unforgettable experience of choral music at its best.

The OBC has toured extensively in Canada, the United States, and Europe, and has been invited to perform as Canada’s choral representative in the prestigious Meet in Beijing arts festival in Beijing, China, in April 2016. In 2014, the choir completed a two-week tour of Venice, Leipzig, Lübeck, Groningen, and Amsterdam, and had the honour of being the first Canadian choir ever to be among the performers in the world’s most prestigious international Bach festival, the Bachfest Leipzig 2014. The OBC also recently performed in the much-anticipated Apocalypsis by Canada’s own R. Murray Schafer at the Luminato Festival in Toronto, in June 2015.

Ottawa Bach Choir

with Matthew Larkin, Organ

Dr. Lisette Canton, Conductor                                                                                         

Charpentier: Messe à quatre chœurs; Langlais: Messe solennelle

Saturday, May 7, 2016, 8PM

Christ Church Cathedral, 439 Queen Street, Ottawa

Tickets: Reserved $50, Adult $40, Senior $35, Student $15

Tickets are available online: www.ottawabachchoir.ca, by phone: 613-270-1015, or at the following outlets:

The Leading Note, 370 Elgin Street, Ottawa; Compact Music, 206 & 785 1/2 Bank Street, Ottawa

Information: info@ottawabachchoir.ca or 613-270-1015

The Ottawa Bach Choir (OBC) presents its second subscription concert in this season of magnificent choral works: Songs for Chamber Ensemble, Saturday, January 30, 2016, 8:00PM, at Southminster United Church, 15 Aylmer Avenue, Ottawa. A small ensemble of solo singers from the OBC will perform with pianist Frédéric Lacroix in an intimate setting. The concert will feature Brahms’ Zigeunerlieder, Debussy’s Trois chansons de Charles d’Orléans, Poulenc’s Un soir de neige, as well as works by Fanny Mendelssohn, Ottawa’s own Nicholas Piper, Schütz, Monteverdi, Pearsall, and more.

One of the main features of the evening will be Brahms’ Zigeunerlieder (“Gypsy Songs”). First performed in Berlin in 1898, the piece is a song cycle with texts based on Hungarian folk songs and originally written for solo singers. Although the origin of these songs is Hungarian, the entire cycle is sung in German; the original Hungarian text having been translated into German before the composition by Brahms. Another work of note is Poulenc’s Un soir de neige (“An evening of snow”). The work is another short cycle of sung poems describing the beauty and solitude of winter. This concert also features Deux chansons de la Belle Cordière by Ottawa’s very own Nicholas Piper. 

The Ottawa Bach Choir was founded in 2002 by Dr. Lisette Canton and offers a wide range of choral music from all historical periods, featuring some of Canada’s top choristers. With the combination of a scholarly and emotional approach, the OBC provides an unforgettable experience of choral music at its best.

The OBC has toured extensively in Canada, the United States, and Europe; most recently returning from a two-week tour of Venice, Leipzig, Lübeck, Groningen, and Amsterdam. The choir had the honour of being the first Canadian choir ever to be among the performers in the world’s most prestigious international Bach festival, the Bachfest Leipzig 2014. The OBC also recently performed in the much-anticipated Apocalypsis by Canada’s own R. Murray Schafer at the Luminato Festival, Toronto in June 2015.

Ottawa Bach Choir

SONGS FOR CHAMBER ENSEMBLE

Saturday, January 30, 2016, 8:00PM

Southminster United Church, 15 Aylmer Avenue, Ottawa

Tickets: Reserved $50, Adult $40, Senior $35, Student $15

Tickets are available online: www.ottawabachchoir.ca, by phone: 613-270-1015, or at the following outlets: The Leading Note, 370 Elgin Street, Ottawa; Compact Music, 206 & 785 1/2 Bank Street, Ottawa

Information: info@ottawabachchoir.ca or 613-270-1015