Expect Something Different
Organist John Sidgwick founded Orpheus in 1964 as an alternative to the traditional choral fare of the day. The choir introduced Toronto audiences to a rich new world of choral music. Now in its 62nd year, the Orpheus Choir of Toronto has become one of Toronto’s preeminent choral groups.
After John Sidgwick’s departure in 1970, Orpheus thrived under the leadership of several prominent choral conductors. Orpheus' past conductors include James Whicher, Lloyd Bradshaw, John Barnum, and Brainerd Blyden-Taylor.
On its 25th anniversary in 1989, Orpheus established the Sidgwick Scholarship Program to honour its founding director. The program enabled Orpheus to support emerging talents who aspire to careers in vocal performance. So began our ongoing commitment to nurturing young talent. Our commitment has expanded to include an annual roster of eight scholarship positions, an apprentice conductor, and a Vocal Apprentice Program to engage talented high school students.
In 2003, Robert Cooper became artistic director and inspired the choir’s renewal and revitalization. Under his direction, Orpheus outgrew its roots as a community choir. After 20 years of fruitful leadership, Robert Cooper stepped down as artistic director.
The Board of Directors was delighted to announce that after an intensive search through the spring of 2023, Thomas Burton-Bresba was named Artistic Director. The choir continues to flourish under his leadership by regularly premiering new choral-orchestral works, seeking out and performing rarely heard repertoire, and creating immersive and theatrical concert experiences.
"The two combined choirs delivered a wonderfully moving performance, adding to the spectacular lows and highs of the symphony’s final movement. There were truly spine chilling moments that captured the epic nature of both the work and its redemptive message."
We have made our mark in the Canadian choral community by championing new and rarely performed choral works and celebrating the ‘Expect Something Different’ experience.
We perform a vast repertoire of sacred and secular music. Performances range from the Renaissance to the 21st century, from the classic to the experimental. Adding to the richness of the choral art form, Orpheus continues to commission new works from Canadian and international composers.
Orpheus has introduced Toronto audiences to many fascinating and accessible works from the current generation of leading composers such as Ēriks Ešenvalds, György Orbán, Vytautis Miškinis, René Eespere, Urmas Sisask, Jocelyn Hagen, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Mason Bates, and many others.
Community Partnership and Collaboration
The Orpheus Choir of Toronto is committed to sharing the gift of music in the community through partnership and collaboration.
Orpheus realizes this value through collaborations with renowned international artists such as Sir David Willcocks, Sir Philip Ledger and John Rutter, Ben Heppner, Mary Lou Fallis, Lois Marshall, Alfred Deller and Adrianne Pieczonka.
We have collaborated with communities in the Toronto area to share their stories with a wider audience. In 2017, we joined with the Vesnivka Choir to commission Larysa Kuzmenko's The Golden Harvest. The performance was mounted to commemorate the 125th anniversary of Ukrainian immigration to Canada.
A year later, Orpheus marked Latvia's 100th anniversary by joining hands with Toronto's Latvian community. Together, they mounted a festival celebrating the work of composer Ēriks Ešenvalds. This culminated in the performance of his Nordic Light Symphony.
Choral Music to Effect Social Change
Finally, as reflected in our Vision Statement, the Orpheus Choir of Toronto regards the choral experience as a way of effecting social change.
Orpheus has an abiding concern for the environment and the effects of the global climate crisis. Mounting works by Leonard Enns, Ten Thousand Rivers of Oil, Orpheus offered an entire concert devoted to the issue of water -- This Thirsty Land (2018).
As we passed the 100th anniversary of World War I, we mounted concerts that explored not only the darkness that sometimes emerges in hatred and division, but also the human capacity for resilience and reconciliation -- The End of Innocence and Last Light Above the World.
In honour of International Women's Day, Orpheus created a unique project called Raising Her Voice in partnership with Diaspora Dialogues. We paired emerging composers and poets with established composers and poets. From these relationships, Orpheus commissioned 4 new works by Canadian women and created a new mentorship model.
Our newest presentation, Sound Mind, explores the connections between music and mental health and will be held during Mental Health Week.
Our Team
Thomas Burton-Bresba, Artistic Director
Raised in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Thomas Burton is Artistic Director of the Orpheus Choir of Toronto, Artistic Director of Durham Region’s RESOUND Choir, and Co-Conductor of the Halifax-based Borealis Chamber Choir. He is a member of the choral faculty at the University of Toronto where he instructs undergraduate choral conducting and directs the Faculty of Music’s Tenor/Bass choir. Praised for his innovative and eclectic programming as well as his dynamic presence on the podium, Thomas is in-demand nationally as a guest conductor, clinician and educator.
Thomas is passionate about inspiring excellence in performers of all ages and abilities. A highly experienced orchestral conductor, he regularly conducts Canadian and world premieres of rarely heard choral-orchestral masterworks. He is active as a professional choral singer and has sung with some of Canada’s finest choirs including the Toronto Mendelssohn Singers, Voces Boreales, and the Nathaniel Dett Chorale. He currently serves as the inaugural Conducting Fellow and Assistant to the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra.
Thomas is a recipient of the Ken Fleet Choral Conducting Scholarship, the Sir Ernest MacMillan Memorial Foundation Award, and is the inaugural recipient of the Iwan Edwards Scholarship for Young Choral Conductors awarded by Jeunesses Musicales. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Trombone Performance from McGill University and a master’s degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Michigan where he studied with Dr. Jerry Blackstone and Dr. Eugene Rogers.
Yuan Chen, Assistant Conductor
Yuan (Alba) Chen is currently in the Doctor of Musical Arts program in Choral Conducting at the University of Toronto. Yuan is the associate conductor of Chorus Niagara, Assistant conductor for Toronto Children’s Chorus.
As a former Assistant Conductor of Orchestra Toronto, Yuan earned wide recognition and praise for her musicianship and leadership. She previously served as Music Director at Nomad Stages in Stephenville, Newfoundland, where she led her choir to win the Best Choir Award at the Stephenville Rotary Music Festival. During her tenure, she took on the role of Music Director for eleven musical theatre productions. Yuan continued to broaden her artistic work as Music Director for the 46th Stephenville Theatre Festival, a role that highlighted her collaborative spirit and clear artistic vision. She also serves as a guest conductor for the Atlantic Boy Choir.
In addition to her choral accomplishments, Yuan brings a diverse artistic background, having worked for five years as an improvisational theatre actress, film producer, and director, enriching her approach to storytelling and performance.
Vladimir Soloviev, Collaborative Pianist
Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors is composed of singing and non-singing members. Those members are:
- Laura Packer, Chair
- Darko Lakota, Finance Lead
- Katharina Steger, Secretary
- Elizabeth Shannon, Governance Lead
- Grace Hutton, Membership Lead
- Leanne Oefner, Development Lead
- Elizabeth Lee, Marketing Lead
- Christine Button, Director
- Rachel Sham, Director
The Board meets six to eight times a year. Because it is a working Board, many of its tasks and commitments fall outside the formalities of the meeting environment. The Board has several broad areas of responsibility:
- Governance
- Finance
- Marketing
- Development
- Information Technology
- Program Development
- Membership
Board members provide leadership for these areas of responsibility and, as needed, they develop teams to support them.
The purpose of the Board is to support the Artistic Director in the realization of his creative vision within the broad mandate of the organization's Vision, Mission, & Values statement.
If you would like to serve on the Orpheus Board, please contact us, using the form below.