Spurrell Studio Choir Wins Elmer Iseler Prize At Kathaumixw Festival by Sean Bickerton Canadian Music Centre Jul 18, 2018 Source: musiccentrebc.ca [August 16, 2018]

The Canadian Music Centre in BC was pleased to sponsor the Elmer Iseler Prize for Outstanding Performance of a Canadian Work at this year’s XVIIIth Annual International Festival Choral Kathaumixw July 3 – 7, 2018, in Powell River, BC.

The Award was presented at the Gala Awards Concert on Friday, July 6th to the Spurrell Studio Choir from Oakville, ON, conducted by Natalie Spurrell, for their performance of Stephen Hatfield‘s Nukapianguaq.

The Elmer Isler Prize is named for one of the leading choral conductors in Canada. He led the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, and founded the Festival Singers of Canada and the renowned Elmer Iseler Singers, and led his choirs at many national and international festivals and events.

He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1975 “for his many services in the field of music in Canada, particularly for his development of the world-renowned Toronto Mendelssohn Choir.” He was awarded the Order of Ontario in 1995, and in 1997 was named a Fellow of the Royal Conservatory of Music and an Adjunct Professor of Choral Music at the University of Toronto, where the Elmer Iseler singers became the official choir-in-residence. A champion of Canadian music, the Elmer Iseler Prize is one of the most prestigious awards presented every two years at the Kathaumixw Choral Festival. The sculpture was created by local wildlife artist and Tug Ghum Gallery owner Debra Bevaart. It is entitled “Neptune’s Private Eyes”.

This year’s festival featured choirs from around the world, including Echology: University of Newcastle Chamber Choir (Australia); Ragazzi Boys Choir (US);Cantamus Seattle Girls Choir (US); Ad Una Corda (Slovak Republic); Spurrell Studio Choir (Canada); Hunter Singers (Australia); EnChor Chamber Choir (Canada); Academy Chamber Choir (Canada); Tainan Chamber Choir (Taiwan); Choir of the Maritime University of Szczecin (Poland); Crescent Collegiate Vocal Ensemble (Canada); Young People’s Chorus of New York City (US); Cantabella Children’s Chorus (US); Prairie Voices (Canada); Pacific Mennonite Children’s Choir (Canada); SKH Lam Woo Memorial Secondary School (China) Crescent Collegiate Vocal Ensemble (Canada); Chor Musica (Canada); Cantabella Children’s Chorus (USA); Treble Choir of Houston (US); Ragazzi Young Men’s Ensemble (USA); Prairie Voices (Canada); Powell River Youth Choir (Canada); Powell River Chorus (Canada); Powell River Academy Singers (Canada); Kathaumixw Festival Brass Ensemble and Kathaumixw Festival Chorus (Canada);