2014–2015 annual report Photo: Frank Nagy 2014–15 SeasonSupporters The MendelssohnCircle Finances Connecting withtheCommunity Education &Outreach Performances 2014–15 Highlights TABLE OFCONTENTS

17 14 12 11 9 7 5 TORONTO MENDELSSOHN CHOIR ANNUAL REPORT

3

Photo: Brian Summers 2014–15 Highlights

The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir celebrated 120 years as Canada’s choral champion with stellar sold-out performances, a series of concert webcasts which attracted over 12,000 viewers, and two pop-up concerts which brought the TMC to Bay and Yonge Streets.

Audiences were treated to familiar masterpieces like Through concert performances, workshops, and our Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass and Mozart’s Requiem in vibrant online presence, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir Koerner Hall, and the rarely performed Tallis 40-part motet engaged with close to 125,000 people over the 2014–15 The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, as one Spem in alium in the soaring acoustics and visual season, and we are learning more about our supporters of Canada’s largest choral organizations, splendour of St. Paul’s Basilica. Two sold-out performances every day. Our participation in Chorus America’s two-year believes its role is to provide Canadian of Arvo Pärt’s minimalist Passio created a contemplative Intrinsic Impact Project is the most comprehensive audiences the experience of the classical oasis in the intimate setting of Church of the Holy Trinity. audience survey the TMC has been involved in, and choral masterworks of the world. We celebrated Sir Andrew Davis’ 40-year bond with the feedback from the first year has already begun to shape TSO and TMC with a performance of the Verdi Requiem, decision-making around concert programming and The grand symphonic sound has been the and garnered rave reviews for our participation in Mahler’s audience engagement. Toronto Mendelssohn Choir’s trademark for Resurrection Symphony and Murray Schafer’s Apocalypsis, over 100 years. Performing both sacred and the highlight of the 2015 Luminato Festival. The TMC’s Community of supporters believes strongly in our mission to be Canada’s choral champion. Gifts from secular repertoire, TMC choristers are Our education and outreach programs continue to inspire individual donors increased by 10% over 2014 (itself up committed to offering audiences authentic the next generation of choral singers and conductors 30% from 2013), and our webcast initiative and Choral interpretation, clarity of expression and a through the TMC Apprentice and Emerging Conductor Conductors’ Symposium were fully funded by generous profound emotional experience of some of the programs, and thanks to a generous gift from a retiring contributors. We are financially stable, despite posting a most important music ever composed. chorister, a newly created composers’ competition will small loss for the 2014-15 season, and we continue to contribute to the growth of emerging Canadian composers invest in new programs and artistically excellent beginning this winter. performances.

Thanks so much to YOU — the members of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir community. Whether chorister or alumni, patron or donor, board or staff, you share our passion to enrich the lives of Canadians through great choral music.

4 TORONTO MENDELSSOHN CHOIR ANNUAL REPORT TORONTO MENDELSSOHN CHOIR ANNUAL REPORT 5 Performances

Mozart and Haydn TMC Choral Conductors’ Sacred Music Celebrating the TMC’s Symposium Concert for a Sacred Space TH 120 Anniversary JAN 31, 2015 APR 3, 2015 OCT 15, 2014 Ending the TMC’s fifth annual Choral This concert has become a Good To mark this significant anniversary Conductors’ Symposium, this free Friday tradition for Toronto audiences. the Choir, joined by orchestra and TMC outreach concert provided This year, 40-part Tudor counterpoint soloists, performed two Classical audiences at Yorkminster Park filled the soaring acoustic of St. Paul’s masterpieces in the perfect acoustics Baptist Church and via Livestream Basilica for a rare performance of of Koerner Hall and webcast to with a fabulous opportunity to hear Thomas Tallis’ motet Spem in alium, viewers all over the world. Associate the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and along with music by the great English Conductor Caron Daley conducted the Elora Festival Singers perform composer John Tavener and Gabriel Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass. Artistic diverse works from the choral Fauré’s luminous Requiem. Director Noel Edison brought the repertoire conducted by the five evening to a climax with Mozart’s Symposium conductors. Verdi’s Requiem glorious final composition: the with the TSO perennially popular Requiem. Pärt: Passio MAY 21–23, 2015 MAR 10 & 11, 2015 Sir Andrew Davis returned to the TSO “To my ears, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir is Festival of Carols The TMC celebrated the 80th birthday podium to conduct Verdi’s Requiem in With Organist David Briggs and of acclaimed Estonian composer Arvo celebration of his 40-year association a national treasure. The smooth sound, the the Canadian Staff Band Pärt with two sold-out performances with the Orchestra and Choir. hushed tones, and the fiery outburst were all DEC 10, 2014 of his stunning 1982 setting of the St. The Choir, organist David Briggs, and John Passion, Passio. Organ, Choir, Apocalypsis there – it’s an unalloyed pleasure.” 30-piece Canadian Staff Band raised Festival Quintet and an octet of JUN 26–28, 2015 Joseph So, Musical Toronto the roof at the TMC’s popular annual soloists immersed the audience in The culminating performance of Christmas concert of festive music Toronto’s historic Church of the Holy Toronto’s Luminato Festival, R. Murray and stories. An audience of over 800 Trinity in a hypnotic flow of music and Schafer’s monumental Apocalypsis joined in the sing-along carols, and silence. brought together over 1000 choristers, another several hundred watched the instrumentalists, dancers, and Livestream webcast. performers in a stunning sensory experience. The TMC provided two of the twelve 35-voice choirs for this once-in-a-lifetime performance.

Other Guest Performances Beethoven Symphony No. 9 Choral with the TSO Festival of Carols at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts Messiah with the TSO Mahler Symphony No. 2 Resurrection with the TSO

6 TORONTO MENDELSSOHN CHOIR ANNUAL REPORT TORONTO MENDELSSOHN CHOIR ANNUAL REPORT 7 Education & Outreach

Singsation Saturday TMC Apprentices For over 20 years, the TMC has run open choral music The Apprentice program grew again in 2014–15, with eleven workshops, in which local conductors lead amateur singers between the ages of 17 and 22, who received financial choral singers through a wide variety of choral assistance, mentoring and vocal coaching in addition to repertoire. These Singsation Saturday workshops allow performing with the Choir for the season. a diverse group of singers to enjoy a wide variety of choral works in a low-pressure, fun environment, and to Emerging Conductor Program experience the power of singing great choral works in a Training and encouraging young and emerging conductors is large choir. In 2014–15, we offered six workshops,

Photo: Brian Summers central to the TMC’s education and outreach mandate. Through including a free Singsation as part of national Culture the Associate Conductor program and the Choral Conductors’ Days in September. Over the year, over 350 community Symposium, the Choir provides mentoring and coaching for choristers joined in, supported by 30 chorister and conductors at differing stages in their careers. alumni volunteers. Caron Daley completed her two-year term as the TMC’s Pop-Up Concerts Associate Conductor, conducting Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, in In 2015, the TMC initiated a series of “pop up” October as well as selections in the Festival of Carols and in the concerts in unusual venues. The contemplative and Sacred Music for a Sacred Space concert. uplifting music of our Sacred Music program was featured in two mini-concerts: Brookfield Place on Bay We welcome Jennifer Min-Young Lee to the podium as TMC Street and the Toronto Public Reference Library. The Associate Conductor for a two-year term beginning in 2015. Toronto Star captured the Bay Street performance on video as the leader of a piece on classical performers The TMC Choral Conductors’ Symposium is designed to propel reaching out to wider audiences. young choral conductors to new levels of artistic growth. The fifth annual Symposium was held from January 27–31, 2015, in Toronto. Five emerging conductors (three from Canada and two from the US) were selected to participate in this week-long series of workshops and master classes with TMC Artistic Director Noel Edison, as well as sessions with TMC Executive Director Cynthia Hawkins and Associate Conductor Caron Daley.

For the fourth year in a row, the Free Community Concert was also webcast live in HD video.

THE CHORAL CONDUCTORS’ SYMPOSIUM IS GENEROUSLY SPONSORED BY

8 TORONTO MENDELSSOHN CHOIR ANNUAL REPORT TORONTO MENDELSSOHN CHOIR ANNUAL REPORT 9 Photo: Brian Summers Connecting with the Community

Alumni Affairs Patrons tell us what is important to them in post-concert surveys During the season, a vibrant community of former choristers Many patrons took the time to complete our online post-concert surveys this attended special events and concerts year. These surveys, part of a multi-choir Chorus America project, in which the and Singsation Saturdays, TMC is the sole Canadian choir, help us to understand our patrons. The Chorus participated in the Alumni Singer America Intrinsic Impact study is to assess the intrinsic effect of choral music on program, volunteered in the office audiences. So far we’ve learned about why patrons attend TMC concerts; what and at concerts, and donated to the contributes to and detracts from their concert experience; and the emotional Choir. Highlights of this year’s Alumni impact of our concerts on listeners. Most intriguing for us was learning what programming included the Alumni questions patrons would ask – of the composer, the conductor, the choristers. Open-Dress Rehearsal for Mozart & Two changes you will see right away based on the feedback we heard: in our Haydn at Koerner Hall, participation concert programs, we will share more personal reflections on the repertoire; by Alumni Singers in performances of and tickets for our Good Friday concert will be sold by section and row number Handel’s Messiah and Verdi’s to make seating for patrons easier in St. Paul’s Basilica. Requiem, and an intimate pre- concert dinner before the Passio performance. TMC travels the world (through the internet)

TMC webcasts take our performances across Canada and internationally. TMC began webcasting select concerts in 2012; in the 2014–15 season, thanks to donations from long-time TMC supporters, we were able to webcast three concerts: Mozart and Haydn; Festival of Carols; and the Conductors’ Symposium concert. Concerts were broadcast live using the Livestream platform; and then remained accessible to viewers following the concerts. Throughout the year our Livestream page saw over 12,000 sessions from over 8,000 unique visitors who came from across Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, and from many countries in Europe and South America. View archival webcasts and find announcements for upcoming webcasts at new.livestream.com/TMChoir.

10 TORONTO MENDELSSOHN CHOIR ANNUAL REPORT TORONTO MENDELSSOHN CHOIR ANNUAL REPORT 11 Highlights from the Statement of Operations and Changes in Net Assets for years ended How TMC funds August 31, 2015 and August 31, 2014 are allocated

2015 2014 REVENUE Concert-related revenue $249,915 $257,899 Private sector funding $272,717 $ 267,8 03 Government grants $152,940 $147,94 0 10% Fundraising $ 37,428 $64,765 Investment income ($16,938) $86,553 Other $7,869 $9,787 $703,931 $834,747 TMC Programs 43% Marketing & Promotion EXPENSES Fundraising Expenses Artistic and concert-related $206,591 $214,852 29% Salaries & Benefits Personnel and benefits $345,393 $346,969 Administrative Expenses Marketing and promotion $93,560 $95,463 Development and fundraising $12,017 $49,224 Administration $80,081 $89,944 Amortization $4,400 $4,400 $742,042 $800,852 6% 12% Excess of revenue over expenses $(38,111) $33,895

Net assets, end of year $679,179 $717,290

12 TORONTO MENDELSSOHN CHOIR ANNUAL REPORT TORONTO MENDELSSOHN CHOIR ANNUAL REPORT 13 The Mendelssohn Circle

VISIONARY MEMBER GOLD MEMBER SILVER MEMBER BRONZE MEMBER MEMBER ($5,000 or more) ($3,500 – $4,999) ($2,500 – $3,499) ($1,650 – $2,499) ($1,000 – $1,649) LEGACY CIRCLE Irene Bailey Lenora Butler Kim Finkelstein & Jerry Bokser Joan Beaton Bryce & Nancy Atkinson Irene Bailey Lloyd & Dorothy Chiotti Austin (dec.) & Lois Fricker John B. Lawson, C.M. Thomas H. Beechy Dana Boyko Charles & Lenora Butler Robert & Andrea Chisholm Catriona McDonald Taketo & Vija Murata Noel Edison, O.Ont. Murray J. Brasseur Lloyd Chiotti Tom & Nancy Laurie Sue Newman Deane & Mary Nesbitt Michael & Karen Fricker Patrick Cardarelli Elizabeth & Tony Churchill Frances Price Chris & Jean Houston Shirley Cunningham Rick Durst Amy Rossiter IMT Corporation Peter DeRoche Karina Frost Marilyn Isaac Stewart Marg Fisher Anita & Ivars Gaide Susan & Liman Jegins William Galloway William Galloway June McLean Douglas G. Gardner Douglas G. Gardner Robert J. Riddle Jack Goad & Laura Wood John Grebby Lorraine & Jim Spragg Cynthia Hawkins Kimber Jonah TD Securities Inc. Robert Hulse Clement Kam Annie Odom Valarie Koziol Warren & Barbara Paddon Eleanor Kunycia Maureen Palmer Sue Newman Peter M. Partridge Daniel Parkinson Marg Rappolt Philip Penney RBC Dominion Securities / Isabel Pierce The MacKay Group Dale Rooney & May Hui Wayne Riddell, C.M. Amy Rossiter Daniel Sinclair Janice Schuyler-Ketchen Harley Smyth Sue Sherman & Don McCuaig & Carolyn McIntire Smyth Ross Robert Stretton Joan Farr & Len Speed Laura Wood Lina & Derek Stinnes Anonymous (6) Rev. Cynthia R. & Ross R. Stretton Eric C.H. Tang Timothy Taylor Johan van’t Hof

14 TORONTO MENDELSSOHN CHOIR ANNUAL REPORT TORONTO MENDELSSOHN CHOIR ANNUAL REPORT 15 Photo: Brian Summers 16

TORONTO MENDELSSOHN CHOIR ANNUAL REPORT BROADCAST MEDIAPARTNER MAJOR CORPORATE SUPPORT CHORAL CONDUCTORS’SYMPOSIUM MESSIAH 2014–15 Season WITHTHETSO Supporters TORONTO MENDELSSOHN CHOIR Adam BekhorandWineWire Vale Harbord BakeryandCalandria Christien Gilston Fox andFiddleRestaurant PRODUCTS &SERVICES of ourgovernmentpartners: We gratefully acknowledgethesupport Sun LifeFinancial RBC FinancialGroup Manulife Financial IBM CanadaLtd. & VOLUNTEERGRANTS CORPORATE MATCHING GIFTS George CedricMetcalfeFoundation Tippet Foundation McLean Foundation J.P. BickellFoundationLamb Edwards CharitableFoundation CIBC Children’s Foundation PRIVATE FOUNDATIONS

ANNUAL REPORT

un organismedugouvernementdel’Ontario an Ontariogovernmentagency

17 Board & Staff

Artistic Staff Administration Board of Directors Noel Edison Cynthia Hawkins Michael Fricker, Chair Artistic Director & Conductor Executive Director IMT Corporation Caron Daley Anne Longmore Catriona McDonald, Vice-Chair Associate Conductor Director of Marketing SAP Canada James Bourne Kimber Jonah Maureen Palmer, Secretary-Treasurer Pianist Administrator & Rouge Valley Health System Box Office Manager Lloyd Chiotti Jennie Worden Enbridge Gas Distribution (retired) Marketing & Kathryn Cosgrove Development Coordinator Deloitte Laura Wood Kim Finkelstein* Alumni Program Breakthrough Manager (volunteer) Business Performance Lorraine Spragg Marg Rappolt* Librarian Ministry of Community Karen Pierce and Social Services (retired) Bookkeeper Daniel Sinclair Samantha Little The Co-operators Production Manager Lina Stinnes* James Spragg Bank of Montreal Orchestra Manager Eric C. H. Tang* Eleanor Kunycia Porter Novelli Canada Registrar (Volunteer) Timothy Taylor Ontario Power Authority (retired) Johan van’t Hof Tonbridge Corporation Jennie Worden* Recording Secretary

*TMC Choristers

720 Bathurst St., Suite 404 Toronto, Ontario M5S 2R4 416-598-0422 www.tmchoir.org