Canadian Children's Opera Chorus

The Canadian Children's Opera Chorus (CCOC) was founded in 1968 by Ruby Mercer and Lloyd Bradshaw. The Chorus consists of five divisions of approximately 240 boys and girls aged 6 to 19. The Principal Chorus has over 80 choristers, and they participate as the children's chorus in productions by the Canadian Opera Company (COC). The current artistic director/conductor is Ann Cooper Gay. The CCOC performs many times in the year; in addition to COC productions, they perform with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Soundstreams Canada, the Hannaford Street Silver Band, as well as on their own.

The CCOC's repertoire consists of a mix of traditional music and modern classical pieces. They have released five CDs.

Commissioned works

The CCOC has commissioned a number of works in the past, including the following:

* Dragon in the Rocks (2008) (Alexander Rapoport)
* A Dickens of a Christmas (2005) (Errol Gay)/(Michael Patrick Albano)
* The Hobbit (2004) (Dean Burry)
* The Star Child (1998) (John Greer/Ned Dickens)
* The Snow Queen (1993) (John Greer/Jeremy James Taylor)
* A Midwinter Night's Dream (Harry Somers/Tim Wynne-Jones)
* Dr. Canon's Cure (Derek Holman/Robertson Davies)
* Chip and His Dog (1978) (Gian Carlo Menotti)

Discography

* "Dandelion Parachutes"
* "Creatures Great & Small"
* "Sir Christëmas"
* "There and Back Again"
* "A Midwinter Night's Dream

Past musical directors

* Ann Cooper Gay (2000-present)
* John Tuttle (1985-2000)
* Derek Holman (1975-1985)
* Donald Kendrick (1974-1975)
* Lloyd Bradshaw (1968-1975)

Awards

* National Award for Outstanding Choral Record (1989) for Derek Holman's "Sir Christëmas" awarded by the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors
* First Prize (1992) in the CBC Radio Competition for Amateur Choirs, Children’s Choir category
* First Prize (1993) in the CBC Radio Competition for Amateur Choirs, Children’s Choir category
* Second Prize (1998) in the CBC Radio Competition for Amateur Choirs, Children’s Choir category
* "'Recording of A Midwinter Night's Dream Nominated for a Juno Award in 2007

External links

* [http://www.canadianchildrensopera.com/ CCOC official web site]
* [http://www.coc.ca/company/affiliates_ccoc.html Canadian Opera Company affiliate page]