Windsor Choral Festival to showcase 15 regional choirs at annual event

Fifteen choirs from across the region will showcase their talents during the 13th annual Windsor Choral Festival April 13 at the Capitol Theatre.

“The Windsor Choral Festival has become a major choral event in the cultural life of the Windsor-essex Peninsula,” said artistic director Bruce Kotowich, in a news release.

“The focus of the festival is to feature local choirs, bring together intergenerational ensembles, and celebrate the choral arts in a non-competitive environment.

“The Windsor Choral Festival welcomes our guest clinicians and composers from across Canada as they bring their insights to elevate the quality of our choral community.”

Choirs from Windsor, Amherstburg, Essex, Leamington, Tecumseh and Chatham will participate in vocal clinics with award-winning choral conductor and educator Elaine Choi.

Since its founding in 2012, the festival has offered many Windsor-based choirs and vocal ensembles opportunities for vocal training and education and to collaborate with singers locally and nationally.

With a mandate to promote Canadian choral music, the festival features a Canadian work every year as a massed choral piece during the grand finale concert.

Part of the festival's mandate is accessibility.

“(It) has grown to include several hundred participants annually who learn from expert clinicians and sing together on the Capitol stage in a showcase performance, completely free of charge,” said associate artistic director Danielle Sirek.

The WCF is supported through donations and grants, such as the Arts, Culture, and Heritage Fund through the City of Windsor.

Showtime is 7:30 p.m. Admission is by donation.

The showcase will feature performances from each choir and a massed choir finale.

The focus of the festival is to feature local choirs, bring together intergenerational ensembles, and celebrate the choral arts.