Cantala gathers at Forest Hill United Church (2 Wembley road) on Monday evenings. Many people arrive early (6:30pm) to chat, have a bite to eat or practise. It is encouraged that everyone help out to set up the chairs, the piano and individual music stands for people to use. Often the space is tight-but that means we have lots of singers!-or sometimes it is not (maybe everyone is late, or sick). Nevertheless, rehearsal starts at 7pm sharp. The general schedule of the evening follows this schedule: Warm up: 7pm-7:15pm. This is often longer in the early months of the season and shorter in the l ..read more

We finished up our spring recording project this past week! The piece titled Lullaby, is a musical audioscape by Toronto composer James Rolfe. Working with Michelle Colton was a wonderful experience. She is very professional and taught us all about the different mallets used with the Marimba and how they change its sound. She changed on a whim when we needed new tempos and new textures. Thank you Michelle for being so wonderful to work with. The whole project was a great success. Check out the comments from the singers in this project. “I am SO PROUD to be a part of this group. This was quite ..read more

Cantala is now well into its 2024 Spring project. This year we are recording James Rolfe’s Lullaby with Michelle Colton on Marimba in Walter Hall at the end of June 2024. This will be released on our next album, titled Songbird, this coming Fall 2024. The album features newly published works by many local Toronto Composers. It is exciting to finally see this project come to fruition as it was delayed due to the COVID pandemic. We are very excited to be recording James Rolfe’s Lullaby, local Toronto composer, with local Toronto percussionist Michelle Colton. Check out her website at https://mi ..read more

Who is Cantala? Now in its 17th season, Cantala is an award winning treble choir in the Toronto choral community. We are raving mad about choral music, singing together and making an experience that is both inspiring, moving and uplifting for both singer and audience member. We are committed to performing diverse choral music at the highest level. Cantala is a musical home for those who have a passion for achieving choral excellence. One of our missions is to provide an equitable, inclusive and diverse musical experience. As part of this vision we will be starting a new program of mentorship f ..read more

On Saturday May 27th, 2024 the voices of Cantala rang in the air at Forest Hill United Church. Cantala presented a concert of Canadian works that were both new and familiar to all. Check out the youtube link below to listen to it again or hear it for the first time- if you missed it. Thank you to all who came to the concert and for all the hard work everyone put into making it such a great success. See you at our next concert on Saturday December 7th, 2024, 7pm where we will present works from The Lost Words: A Spell Book. Here is the link to our live Spring Concert 2024. Enjoy. Listen to mor ..read more

We are truly lucky to have such a diverse cultural landscape in Canada. From the Indigenous peoples, to the settlers and now immigrants from every part of the globe, Canada is a place where there is such variety in our food, entertainment and social circles that one cannot but rejoice and celebrate Canada. Photo credit: James Wheeler Our spring concert, on Saturday April 27th, 2024 at 2pm, will feature a variety of Canadian -and Canadian inspired music-from many different musical genres. We are having an amazing time learning about Canada through the musical texts and contexts surrouding the ..read more

This spring we will be learning Canadian Folk songs. I was inspired recently by the work titled Woodsmoke and Oranges (Tamblyn). Afterwards, I immediately knew it was time to program a folk themed concert. (Psst…. For those that know me, don’t be surprised to also anticipate other pieces that are not Canadian folk as well). Photo Credit: Joanne Schwindt You know those annoying flies we battle in the summer while camping? Well, there is a song about it! And it’s fun. It is called “Black Fly”. We will also sing about all the gorgeous Canadian rivers in a piece titled “All the Little Rivers in C ..read more

Do you ever think about death? I do. It is not a morbid cognitive task for me. It is born out of a fascination for it, nothing else. Actually, it is one of my favourite things to ponder and philosophize about. Death was an underlying theme at the concert this past December 2nd. It was a powerful night of wonder. Thank you to Asal Iranmehr, Piano, and Sarah Steeves, Cello, who performed with us at the concert during Sarah Quartel’s Snow Angel. Both of whom, with the glorious work of the singers, gave such a meaningful, heartfelt performance. For myself, the highlight of this work is in movement ..read more

Cantala’s seasonal concert is one month away and we are excited to share with you the beautiful Canadian work Snow Angel, by Sarah Quartel. We will be performing with Asal Iranmehr, pianist and Sarah Steeves, Cellist. The second half of the concert will again feature small ensembles showing off the incredible talent we have in Cantala. Also included are works by Geilo and Schubert. Order your tickets today Order tickets today ..read more

 Welcome to Cantala! Cantala is a musical home for those who have a passion for achieving choral excellence. Traditionally, this has been an experience for those with experience-choral or music experience, that is. But we now recognize that this is not an inclusive practise,nor equitable. Cantala is rethinking its commitment to provide an equitable, inclusive and diverse musical experience for any and all that want to sing. To see our initiative through, we have started a mentorship program. Who is this mentorship program for? This program is for those that have little to no musical read ..read more