About

The Elora Singers, under the direction of Mark Vuorinen, has established an international reputation as one of Canada’s finest professional choirs. Founded in 1980, it is the ensemble-in-residence of the Elora Festival for three weeks each summer, in addition to presenting a regular concert series, producing recordings, and touring across Canada and internationally.

With twelve releases on the NAXOS label, the Grammy- and JUNO-nominated Elora Singers is recognized for its rich, warm sound and clarity of texture. The choir is renowned for its diverse styles, for its commitment to presenting and commissioning Canadian repertoire, and for collaborating with Canadian and international artists. Recent and upcoming collaborations include Voces8, the State Choir LATVIJA, the Grand Philharmonic Choir, Festival of the Sound, Canadian composers Stephanie Martin and Peter-Anthony Togni and the TorQ Percussion Quartet. A recording featuring new works by Barbara Croall (Giishkaapkag) and Reena Esmail (This Love Between Us) was released in 2020 and a new Christmas recording, Radiant Dawn, was released in November 2021.

Community outreach is a vital part of The Elora Singers’ mandate. We are pleased to provide the gift of music to Elora and Wellington County residents through our Arts Connect music program at the Elora Centre for the Arts and the Circle of Song program at Wellington Terrace Long-Term Care Home. In December 2020, we shared our Nativity Festival online concerts with almost 300 retirement and long-term care homes, hospitals and social services support centres across Ontario and Canada.

Artistic Director and Conductor: Mark Vuorinen

Mark Vuorinen is Artistic Director and Conductor of The Elora Singers and the Elora Festival and Waterloo Region's Grand Philharmonic Choir. He is also Associate Professor and Chair of Music at Conrad Grebel University Colleve at the University of Waterloo and is the President of Choirs Ontario.

A recipient of many awards, Mark was the 2016 Laureate of the Ontario Arts Council’s Leslie Bell Prize, and received a 2016 National Choral Award from Choral Canada (Association of Canadian Choral Communities) for his research on Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. Mark holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Toronto and Master of Music degree from Yale University’s School of Music and Institute of Sacred Music. Recent concert highlights include performances of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, Britten’s War Requiem, Arvo Pärt’s Passio and Credo, Canadian premieres of Jonathon Dove’s There was a Child, and Craig Hella Johnson’s Considering Matthew Shepard, Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s Ad Genua, Reena Esmail’s This Love Between Us and Barbara Croall’s Giishkaapkag (Where the Rock is Cut Through).

Mark’s research interests include the study of contemporary choral literature from the Baltic States, and in particular, the music of Arvo Pärt. Mark was an invited lecturer at the Arvo Pärt Project’s Sounding the Sacred conference in New York City in May 2017. He is published in Circuit Musiques Contemporaines, the Research Memorandum Series of Chorus America, and Principles of Music Composing of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre.

Manager, Development & Operations: Alan Macdonald

Alan Macdonald is the Manager, Development & Operations. He has over 12 years of experience as a leader in artistic administration, working with organizations like The Royal Conservatory’s ARC Ensemble, The Vancouver Chamber Choir, The Glenn Gould School’s Rebanks Family Fellowship Program, and, before joining The Elora Festival, as the Executive Director for That Arts Group.

Board of Directors

Julie Wilson, Board Chair
Legal Resources & Innovation Lawyer
Gowling WLG

Peter Barr, FCA, FCPA, Past Chair
Retired Deloitte Partner

Justin Gorgi, Treasurer
Accounting Manager
Chartered Professional Accountant
Calibre LLP

Christina Stelmacovich, Secretary
Mezzo-Soprano, Manager
The Elora Festival & Singers

Ken Frey
President
Frey Consulting

Brad Halls
Retired Lawyer

Marta McCarthy
Assistant Professor and Conductor
University of Guelph

Alex Miller
President
ESRI Canada Limited

Ken Seiling
Retired Regional Chair
Regional Municipality of Waterloo

Denise Williams
Artistic Director/Producer
Singer, Teacher, Adjudicator

Vision, Mission, and Values

Vision

To be a performing arts organization that gives the gift of inspiration, hope and joy directly to individuals and communities through immersive and meaningful experiences born of collaborative endeavour.

Mission

Values

Community – We value and respect individuals’ uniqueness while building open and harmonious communication.
Collaboration – We believe working together creatively and strategically strengthens our voice and widens our influence.
Inclusivity – We believe the Elora Singers organization’s makeup, including the Singers, the Staff, and the Board, should represent our Art, our Communities, and our future Audiences.
Leadership - We believe strong artistic leadership is key to creating an environment which embraces our current audience while pushing creative boundaries to build our future audience.
Excellence – Our artists, staff and volunteers strive to deliver excellence in all aspects of our organization and programs.
Canadian – We are Canadian music ambassadors; performing, commissioning and collaborating with Canadian artists and composers.
Relevance – We provide socially relevant content by incorporating pieces addressing current issues.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Statement

The Elora Singers is deeply committed to the values of respect, dignity, fairness, and integrity as a performing arts organization providing hope, joy, and inspiration to our communities through music.

We stand against harassment and discrimination on the basis of race, religion, nationality, ethnicity, age, ability, orientation, sex, or gender identity.

Our commitment to diversity and inclusion extends to all members of our organization, our music and performance, the communities in which we live and work, and our audiences, now and in the future.