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Menlo Park, CA, USA and St. John’s, NL, Canada - May 17, 2022 - FeelitLIVE, Inc., the creators of FeelitLIVE, the world’s first all-in-one choir tech platform, today announced the winners of Canada’s Top ChoirsTM, the largest and most inclusive online high school choral competition in Canada.
The Holy Heart Chamber Choir from Holy Heart High School in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada was named the Grand Prize Winner after earning the highest score among the top 10 finalists. As Grand Prize Winner, the group will receive a C$2,500 cash prize and the 2022 Canada’s Top Choirs trophy.
Robert Colbourne, Choral Director, Holy Heart High School said, "As choir teachers, we've spent the last two years finding ways to keep music alive in our schools while we all went through the pandemic together. It was so wonderful to know that other school choirs from across the country were continuing to make such high-quality music despite the restrictions of the pandemic. It was a fantastic concert evening on FeelitLIVE. Everyone at Holy Heart is thrilled to accept this honor and to be in the company of such amazing Canadian choirs."
Secondary school choirs from across Canada were invited to upload a song performance recorded during the 2020-2022 academic years. The contest received a multitude of submissions from schools from across the country. A judges’ panel of leading choral experts evaluated the entries and the viewing audience was invited to vote during the live finale which premiered on May 15, 2022, at 5 PM PT / 8 PM ET.
The esteemed panel of judges consisted of Robert Filion, Dr. Jamie Hillman, Dr. Jakub Martinec, Dr. Melissa Morgan, and Carrie Tennant.
“It was wonderful to see and hear the outstanding performances by talented students and conductors from coast to coast in the first-ever Canada’s Top Choirs, said Dr. Jamie Hillman, Elmer Iseler Chair in Conducting and Director of Choral Studies at the University of Toronto. The judges were inspired by the perseverance of the choirs, all of whom overcame the obstacles of Covid-19 to sing safely and continue producing beautiful art. Congratulations to all singers, conductors, collaborative pianists, parents, and administrators! The innovative FeelItLIVE platform allowed us to come together from across the country as if we were in the same room. We look forward to many more such inspiring events in the future.”
The top 10 finalists were selected based on an overall 40-point score with 30 points derived from the judge’s criteria of Technical Evaluation, Musical and Artistic Criteria, and Overall Artistic Impression, along with Audience Voting which accounted for 10 points.
The Winners
Grand Prize Winner
Holy Heart Chamber Choir, Holy Heart High School, St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador
Best Choreography
Victoria School of the Arts Jazz Choir, Victoria School of the Arts, Edmonton, Alberta
Best Creative Visuals
MCHS Choir, Memorial Composite High School, Stony Plain, Alberta
Best Soloist
Ensemble vocal de l'Académie Lafontaine, Académie Lafontaine, Saint-Jérôme, Quebec
Outstanding Live Performance
JCS Concert Choir, Joane Cardinal-Schubert High School, Calgary, Alberta
Best Audio/Video Engineering
WMYC 2021, Westman High School, Manitoba
To watch the performances again, you can visit the Grand Finale Encore on-demand event on our website here.
About Canada’s Top ChoirsTM (www.feelitlive.com/canadas-top-choirs)
Canada's Top Choirs™ is a virtual forum created to showcase the vast choral talent in Canada, and hosted by FeelitLIVE, the world's first all-in-one choir tech platform. Canada's Top Choirs™ shines a spotlight on choirs that generate beautiful music in Canada every day, and get together to celebrate teamwork, resilience, talent, diversity, hope, and positivity.
About Holy Heart Chamber Choir (www.holyheart.ca)
Holy Heart Chamber Choir is one of 4 choirs at Holy Heart High School in St. John’s, NL. Under the direction of Mr. Robert Colbourne, the choir decided to arrange and perform “Sing You Home” by Newfoundland’s own (and Holy Heart alumni), The Ennis Sisters.
Wanting to be inclusive of all 3 of Canada’s official languages (English, French, and American Sign Language), the choir translated part of the song into French and reached out to the NL Deaf Choir who provided support, mentorship, and education in this inclusive collaboration. A very special thank-you to Paula Coggins, Renee Phair Healey, and Leigh Ann Ryan.
“When We Sing, We Are Home”
Follow us on social media @hhmchoral
About FeelitLIVE (www.feelitlive.com)
FeelitLIVE is the world’s first all-in-one choir tech platform, empowering choral groups to host events, engage audiences, monetize content, and build lasting relationships with their communities. Built by MIT alums, FeelitLIVE is fast becoming home to choirs across North America. FeelitLIVE provides every choir the platform to deliver the beautiful and uplifting experiences they have always imagined. The company is also the creator of the rapidly growing Top ChoirsTM franchise that has found great success in the U.S. and Canada. FeelitLIVE is headquartered in Menlo Park, CA, with passionate and talented team members on four continents.
Contact Information
Robert Martindale
+1.858.864.8600
Robert Colbourne
Holy Heart High School
+1.709.754.1600