Calling All Singers!!
We are forming an ETT choir to join our voices together in song. If you love to sing and are interested in amplifying the collective voice of the union, this is for YOU! We believe in the power of music to share our messages and values in an inclusive and uplifting way. We will highlight the vitality of public education while expressing the joy of unity through singing.
No prior experience is necessary – bring your energy and enthusiasm! We ask choristers to commit to these dates:
- Workshop/rehearsal #1 – Friday, November 3, 2023 (9am to 3pm, lunch provided, location TBD)
- Workshop/rehearsal #2 – Friday November 24, 2023 (9am to 3pm, lunch provided, location TBD)
- Performance – Friday, Dec 8, 2023 at the Federation Day event (8am Sound Check, morning performance, location TBD)
Participating ETT teachers will be provided with a supply teacher on the workshop/rehearsal dates. Our debut performance will be a set approximately 15 minutes long at the Federation Day event Friday December 8, 2023.
Co-Directors/Arrangers/Musicians Annabelle Chvostek and Cathy Nosaty will guide the choristers through a creative process that includes warm-ups, learning songs and musical chants, and interactive songwriting. We will sing in three-part harmony with live musical accompaniment. Choristers will also be provided with a toolkit of songs, chants, teaching materials and techniques to share with their classrooms and communities.
We hope that the ETT choir might continue beyond the December 8 performance as we envision many opportunities to show up for each other including school celebrations, union events, protests and rallies.
Please register below if you are interested, or email nigelbarriffe@ett.on.ca to request additional information. We look forward to uniting our voices!
Registration is now closed.
Bios:
Annabelle Chvostek is a Juno-nominated singer-songwriter, composer and producer whose musical achievements span across multiple genres. She was a featured vocalist for Fujiwara Dance Inventions “Moving Parts” (Dusk Dances, 2023) and has been collaborating with Toronto’s Echo Women’s Choir for a decade. Annabelle began developing skills in choral arrangement, composition and conducting through an Artist in Residence tenure with Echo between 2016-18 and has led choral workshops and pop-up choirs at events such as “United to Stop Hate”, organized by the Toronto and York Labour Council, and “I Can’t Keep Quiet Day”, both at Toronto’s City Hall. She is currently supported by the Ontario Arts Council to compose a song cycle, commissioned by the choir, on the urban waterways of Toronto.
Annabelle is also known for her co-writes with Canadian icon Bruce Cockburn, and as a former member of harmony trio The Wailin’ Jennys. Her recent composition “Your Shadow and Inflorescence” was commissioned by The Primavera Project for cellist Matt Haimovitz, and had its world premiere at the 2022 Venice Biennale. Her sixth solo album String of Pearls (nominated for a 2022 CFMA Award) harkens back to the grittiness of 1930s tango, Berlin cabaret, and Hot Club Jazz.
Cathy Nosaty enjoys a diverse career as a musician, composer, musical director and teaching artist. She began her musical training as a classical pianist, and her love of creative collaboration led her to compose music for dance, theatre and film. She has scored over 100 productions for regional and independent theatre companies across Canada, and a dozen documentary films. She conducted community choirs for Community Arts Guild and Moving Parts for Fujiwara Dance Inventions as part of Dusk Dances 2023 in Hamilton and Toronto. She has been nominated for five DORA awards and the 2020 Louis Applebaum Composer Award – Music for Young People.
Cathy is enthusiastic and passionate teaching artist with programs After School Opera for Canadian Opera Company, Share the Music and The Lullaby Project for Massey Hall & Roy Thomson Hall, Youth Inside Opera for Tapestry Opera, Music Champions for the Royal Conservatory of Music, Swallowing Clouds for Princess Productions and The 10 Minute Musical for tdsbCREATES. Cathy is presently an M.A. candidate in the Critical Studies in Improvisation program at the University of Guelph.
