ChoralFest

ChoralFest is a two-week festival in November open to all Manitoba school, community, and church choirs. Our accomplished clinicians work with each group at its own level, no matter their level of experience.

ABOUT

ChoralFest is an annual two-week, non-competitive festival that provides choirs and conductors an opportunity to work with choral specialists from across the continent. The festival invites all levels and styles of choral singing, including vocal jazz. Approximately 150 choirs and 6,000 singers participate each year.

ChoralFest is open to all choirs; no matter a choir’s level of experience, our clinicians work with each group at its own level. Participating choirs must be members of MCA. For more information on membership with MCA, click here.

Although ChoralFest is non-competitive, clinicians may recommend choirs to represent Manitoba at the national annual festival, MusicFest Canada.

CHORALFEST 2024

Save the date! ChoralFest 2024 will run from November 18 to 28, 2024.

November 18-28
- Early Years, Middle Years & Senior Years In-School Clinics
November 18-22
- Senior Years Performances + Clinics
November 22 (evening) & November 23
- Community Choir Performances + Clinics
November 25-26
- Middle Years Performances + Clinics
November 27-28
- Vocal Jazz Performances + Clinics

Clinicians and venues will be announced soon!

FORMAT

ChoralFest has something for everyone! Choirs of all styles and ages will have the opportunity to learn, grow, and develop their singing skills and technique at ChoralFest.

Community Choirs

Community choirs will perform in the pod system (up to three choirs), and afterwards will receive two 20-min clinics (from different clinicians).

Senior Years (Grades 9-12)

For 2024, SY choirs will have the option of registering for:

Performance in pod system (up to three choirs) + two 20-min clinics (from different clinicians); or
45-min clinic tailored to your choir in your school. Focus on your choir's repertoire or receive a general clinic.*

Middle Years Choirs (Grades 5-8)

For 2024, MY choirs will have the option of registering for:

Performance in pod system (up to three choirs) + one 30-min clinic; or
45-min clinic tailored to your choir in your school. Focus on your choir's repertoire or receive a general clinic.*

Early Years Choirs (Grades K-4)

EY choirs will receive a 45-min clinic tailored to your choir in your school. Focus on your choir's repertoire or receive a general clinic.*

*Schools in close proximity may wish to co-host a clinic together in one location

*Available to schools in Winnipeg & Surrounding areas (within 150km)

Vocal Jazz Choirs

Vocal jazz choirs will perform in the pod system (up to three choirs), and afterwards will receive two 20-min clinics (from different clinicians). The performance and clinic spaces will be equipped with 16 handheld mics, keyboard/piano, drum kit, and bass amp.

REGISTRATION

Registration in ChoralFest includes:

Performance timeslot for 2-3 pieces
Written feedback from expert clinicians
One 30-minute clinic (Early Years, Middle Years) or two 20-minute clinics (Senior Years, Middle Years, Community Choirs, Vocal Jazz)
Opportunity to listen to other choirs
Certificate of participation

Registration fees are posted a minimum of 2 months prior to the festival and are non-refundable. Payment may be made by Credit Card, Cheque, e-Transfer, or Invoice.

We are honoured to have so many choirs from across Manitoba join us for ChoralFest. Every effort is made to accommodate scheduling requests, but MCA cannot guarantee that all requests will be honoured. A preliminary schedule will be published approximately 4 weeks prior to the festival.

Registration coming soon!

VOLUNTEERS

Want to get involved with this exciting program? We need many volunteers to make ChoralFest a success! You can volunteer for as much or as little time as you’d like.

Volunteer tasks include:

ChoralFest committee
Admin & materials prep
Emceeing
Choir registration
Selling/taking tickets
Choir host/ushering
Clinician assistant

Please fill in MCA’s volunteer form to volunteer for ChoralFest. If you prefer one or more of the tasks listed above, you may indicate this on the form.