The Hart House Chorus is auditioned from musically talented students, faculty and alumni of the University of Toronto. Since its inception, the Chorus has maintained a reputation for performances of a high standard in Hart House, in the city, and on tours nationally and abroad. In 1993 the Chorus was a finalist in the Large Choir category of the CBC Radio Competition for Amateur Choirs, and in 1996 was featured on Breakfast Television and Eye on Toronto as the hosting choir of the Inter-Varsity Choral Festival. Among its present members are music majors and voice majors in the Faculty of Music and the Royal Conservatory of Music, and singers from the 1993 through 1997 Ontario Youth Choirs.
Admission is free although seating is limited.
The chorus also assembles chamber groups, typically of twelve to fifteen singers, for special performances at Christmas celebrations and corporate functions. During this past summer a chamber group held regular rehearsals for a repertoire of madrigals and traditional English folk-tunes. The Chorus as a whole completed its annual weekend retreat at the Hart House Farm on October 25-26, where two days of rehearsals included time for a smaller group to practice both traditional and contemporary Christmas carols. The Chorus consists of both music majors and non-music majors who have taken up the opportunity of Hart House to join together for love of singing, who have this fall already hosted choirs on tour from Austria and from Finland, and who are planning a tour in Nova Scotia this spring in preparation for a European tour next year. Special performances provide the pleasure to our audiences of hearing musicians who enjoy live choral performance, while allowing us to be self-funding for our tours regionally and abroad.