Connect with other singers, experience new repertoire and be inspired!

Join us for an unforgettable weekend of choral music making not far from the shores of Okanagan Lake, in beautiful downtown Kelowna. Our guest clinician, Hussein Janmohamed, will take us on a cultural journey through song and lead us towards deeper cultural understanding and deeper connections with one another. You don’t want to miss this opportunity to SING TOGETHER! 

Clinician: Hussein Janmohamed
Venue: Central Okanagan United Church (721 Bernard Ave, Kelowna, V1Y 6P6)

Fees:

Registration includes: all rehearsals (Fri evening/Saturday day), opening wine tasting reception, Saturday evening concert, individual copies of music for the weekend, access to rehearsal recordings.*

$50 – Registration, Host Choir (includes GST)
$100 – Early Bird Registration, All Other Participants – by April 30 (includes GST)
$120 – Regular Registration, All Other Participants – starting May 1 (includes GST)
$40 – BCCF Individual Membership (membership must be current for participants)

Optional Add-Ons:

$21 – Saturday Bag Lunch
$20 – Saturday Concert Ticket (available for pickup at the door)
Approx. $50 – Bus transportation from Okanagan South (Penticton & Summerland) – approx $50 per person (depending on number of travellers –  invoiced later)

CLICK HERE to register!

Note: Registrants who need to cancel for medical reasons may apply to have their Chorfest fee refunded, less a $35 administrative fee. BCCF membership is non-refundable, and good for a calendar year.

Schedule:

Friday

5:30 Registration opens
6:00 Opening Wine Tasting Reception
7:00 – 9:00 Rehearsal time

Saturday

8:30 Coffee
9:00-12:00 Rehearsal time
12:00-1:00 Lunch
1:00-4:00 Rehearsal time
4:00-7:00 Dinner Break
7:00 Evening Concert – Chorfest Choir & A Cascade of Choirs, honouring John Powell

Clinician:

Hussein Janmohamed is a dynamic Canada-based singer, composer and choir conductor working in professional and community- based music and research. Singing in choirs and in congregational community settings helped Hussein transform the negativity of racism into positive feelings of belonging and contribution. These transformative experiences inspire his appetite to harness the power of singing to develop a pluralist musical sound.

Hussein is the inaugural recipient of the BCCF Malcolm McDonald Youth Achievement Award recognizing his inspirational leadership. Hussein has performed with award-winning Canadian choirs including the Elmer Iseler Singers as the James T. Chestnutt Choral Scholar, Chor Leoni Men’s Choir, UBC University Singers and Phoenix Chamber Choir. He is a doctoral candidate in Music Education and the 2017 & 2018 Irene R. Miller and Anoush Khoshkish Fellow at the University of Toronto Faculty of Music. His research builds on music as a universal language and the co-creation of vocal culture(s) that support socio-spiritual development in a pluralist society. Hussein collaborates with musicians across cultures to produce concerts that bridge diverse musical traditions.

Hussein is the Artistic Co-Director of the Awaaz Ensemble, an a multicultural professional a cappella choral ensemble dedicated to creating music inspired by traditional and contemporary approaches to vocal expression. Hussein founded the Vancouver Ismaili Muslim Youth choir and was the inaugural artistic director of the first ever National Ismaili Youth Choir. Hussein has led choirs such as the Vancouver Peace Choir, Canadian Ismaili Choirs, University of British Columbia choirs and the Sarah McLachlan Children’s Choir who appeared on the Young Artists of Haiti Video featuring K’naan. Hussein was the inaugural co-conductor of Cor Flammae, Vancouver’s summer chorus of classically trained, queer singers, performing queer content. Hussein has also facilitated global Ismaili music collaborations to commemorate the 80th birthday and Diamond Jubilee of His Highness the Aga Khan.

As a composer Hussein weaves choral sound and Muslim cultures into choral soundscapes that explore possibilities for peace, hope and harmonious coexistence. He has been commissioned by leading arts organizations such as Ontario Presents for Awaaz Ensemble; The Esoterics for a concert of music inspired by the Muslim world; the Aga Khan Museum for the Elmer Iseler Singers; the Westcoast Sacred Arts Society with First Nations composer Russell Wallace for a Youth Peace Choir at a Tribute Concert to His Holiness the Dalai Lama; Amabile Choirs of London; and, by Classical Movements on behalf of the Nai Syrian Children’s Choir for the 2018 Serenade! Choral Festival as part of the Eric Daniel Helms New Music Program. Hussein was named one of two composers by Chorus America as part of the 2019 Composition Consortium program.

Hussein has served community-based music organizations such as Nai Children’s Choir, MABELLE Arts, Jumblies Theatre and St James Town Arts collaborating with underserved newcomer communities in the creation and production of choral art. Hussein is a TEDx speaker and has been recognized for his inspirational leadership, community building and visionary thinking to bring people together through music.

Repertoire: 

The Gift, by Russell Wallace

Praise the Lord, by Handel, Ed. J.Fast

Adinu, by Shireen Abu-Khader & Andre de Quadros

Invocation, compiled by Hussein Janmohamed

Kaleidoscope Heart, by Sara Bareilles

Sing Together! Nico Rhodes

Contemplation Chant, by Sophia Songhealer

Accommodation Options:

Royal Anne Hotel – 0.5 km from the Chorfest venue (7 min walk)

Samesun Hostel – 1.1 km from the Chorfest venue (14 min walk) 

Delta Hotels by Marriott Grand Okanagan Resort – 1.3 km from the Chorfest venue (15 min walk)

Coast Capri Hotel – 1.9 km from the Chorfest venue (17 min walk)

Hyatt Place Hotel – 3 km from the Chorfest venue (30 min walk)