About
Elektra Women's Choir
Label: independent
since circa 1987
The mission of Elektra Women's Choir is to inspire and lead in the choral art form through excellence in performance and the creation, exploration, and celebration of women's repertoire. Under the collaboration of two world-class conductors, Elektra inspires a strong following through consistent excellence in performance and a rich palette of sound. This forty-voice choir was founded by Co-Conductors Morna Edmundson and Diane Loomer in 1987 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Elektra frequently commissions new works and is known for its adventurous and challenging programming. Upon the retirement of Diane Loomer as Co-Conductor, Morna Edmundson was appointed sole Artistic Director. Loomer has been named Conductor Emerita. In Canada's CBC national choral competitions Elektra has won first prize for women's choirs five times, and other top prizes for performance of contemporary music. In July 2007, Elektra traveled to Festival 500 in St. John’s Newfoundland and Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, sharing Canadian and international repertoire with enthusiastic audiences. Recent engagements include singing Rachmaninov’s monumental All-Night Vigil in Vancouver and White Rock in conjunction with other local choirs (April 2006) and in Victoria (as part of ChorPodium 2006). In 2003, Elektra made its second distinguished appearance at the National Convention of the American Choral Directors Association, giving stunning performances in New York at Carnegie Hall, Riverside Church and Lincoln Center. In 2000, it performed in Edmonton, Alberta at Podium, the convention of the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors, and also at the conference of the International Society for Music Education. In 1996, Elektra represented Canada at the World Symposium on Choral Music in Sydney, Australia.
On April 14, 2007, Elektra celebrated its 20th anniversary with a very special concert in Vancouver’s Christ Church Cathedral. Programming included elements that honoured the past (inclusion of alumni from 20 years in the closing set), exposed the audiences and the choir to high points in historical development of women’s choir repertoire (music of Hasse from the Venetian Ospedali; Edward Elgar’s monumental The Snow), premiered specially commissioned works by two Vancouver composers Ramona Luengen and Jeffrey Ryan, featured Canadian mezzo soprano Judith Forst with whom Elektra had shared one of its most significant works in its history ten years previously, included violinist Nancy DiNovo with whom Elektra had recorded The Snow on compact disc, featured David MacIntyre’s Ave Maria, arguably Elektra’s most famous repertoire legacy worldwide to date, and introduced Vancouver audiences to a major European composer, György Orbán. This sold-out concert was broadcast on CBC Radio Two’s Choral Concert.
Elektra’s strong history of commissioning Canadian works includes over 40 compositions and arrangements in a wide variety of styles. Many of these works have been published and are included on the choir’s eight commercially available CDs. Elektra is proud that many of these works have been taken up by other Canadian and international treble voiced choirs in concerts around the world. Elektra created and hosts Tapestry, a gathering of women's choirs for an exhilarating weekend of rehearsing and performing together, as well as holding Composer Reading Sessions for young composers. Elektra regularly collaborates with the CBC, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Chor Leoni Men’s Choir, and other talented musicians. It is frequently heard on CBC Radio across Canada and on National Public Radio in the United States. Elektra is honoured to work with an outstanding accompanist, Dr. Stephen Smith.
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