Soprano-Alto Chorus, Tenor-Bass Chorus, and Chamber Choir

Kathleen Allan, Thomas Burton, Yuan Chen, Maria Conkey, Tyrese Walters and Melanie Yirenkyi, conductors

PROGRAM

Tenor-Bass Choir

Tshosholoza.

Traditional South African Freedom Song,

arr. Jeffery L. Ames

Tyrese Walters, solo
Melanie Yirenkyi, conductor

If Tomorrow is the Next Life

Zhang Huimei

Tyrese Walters, conductor

This recital is in partial fulfillment of the Master of Music in Choral Conducting.
Melanie Yirenkyi is a student of Jamie Hillman.

This recital is in partial fulfillment of the Master of Music in Choral Conducting.
Tyrese Walters is a student of Jamie Hillman.

Soprano-Alto Chorus

I Will Sing

Michael Engelhardt (b. 1974)

Naoko Tsujita, percussion

This recital is in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting. 
Maria Conkey is a student of Jamie Hillman.

Combined Tenor-Bass Choir & Soprano-Alto Chorus

Missa brevis Sancti Joannis de Deo, Hob XXII: 7

Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)

Erica Harvey, soprano
Christine Wang, Mizuki Yaezawa, violin
Tuuli Olo, cello
Marcus Chan, double bass
Jean-Paul Feo, organ

This recital is in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting. 
Maria Conkey is a student of Jamie Hillman.

Chamber Choir

Ave Regina Caelorum

Isabella Leonarda (1620-1704)

Mac Reid and Trinity Turino, sopranos
Tuuli Olo, cello

Veni Domine, Op. 39, No. 1

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

Monica Lindsay, soprano

To the Harbormaster (World Premiere)

David Archibald*

Kathleen Allan, conductor

牧歌（Pastoral)

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

Monica Lindsay, Trinity Turino, sopranos

Father Thunder

Laura Jēkabsone (b. 1985)

*composer in residence

This recital is in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting. 
Yuan Chen is a student of Jamie Hillman.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Donors to Choral Studies

Advancement: Brittney Cathcart, James Conquer, Rachel Loo

Concert Office: Eric Chow

Librarian, Performance Collection: Karen Wiseman

Performance Office: Eddy Aitken, Amanda Eyer Haberman

Voice Studies and Faculty of Music Voice Faculty

Collaborative Piano Studies and Professor Steven Philcox

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO TENOR-BASS CHORUS

Thomas Burton, conductor
Narek Ebrahimi, collaborative pianist
Tyrese Walters, assistant conductor 
Peter Bass, vocal coach

Tenor
Kenny Cheng
Sidney Forde*
Tyler McFadden
Joshua Yeo
Tyrese Walters
Sebastian Brunner
Could Chen Guan Bu
Cameron Doi
Tom Han
Felix Hill
Levy Lam
Tristan Stryjnik*
Andrew Torgovtsev
Johann White
Charles Zhu

Bass
Carlo Cristiano
Sampson Lui
Jacob Manucdoc
Julian Merendino
Dane Sevilla
Jeffrey Shi Zhen Sun
Adam Wang
Matthew Wang
Houtian Zhong
Oscar Hodgson
Carlos Songcuan
Antonios Vazintaris
Matthew Woolard
Matthew Xie
Kylin Xuan Han Zhao
Neil Gonputh

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO CHAMBER CHOIR

Kathleen Allan, conductor 
Yuan (Alba) Chen, assistant conductor 
Eunseong Cho, collaborative pianist 
Marcel d’Entremont, vocal coach 
David Archibald, composer in residence

Soprano 1
Emilina Arduini
Esther Cabral
Eve Channell
Lauren Fajardo
Lindsay Faulkner
Rasa Ghaedi
Marina Kadri
Charis Li
Megan O'Donnell
Anastacia Zavgorodniy

Soprano 2
Giuliana Barrow Lattanzio
Josheen Bayabos
Elizabeth Gilerovitch
Jihye (Amy) Lee
Jenise Pan
Isla Parekh
Mac Reid
Sylvia Sass
Trinity Turino
Jane Zelcer

Alto 1
Lauren Esch
Cheuk Yan (Josephine) Leung
Monica Lindsay
Danielle Millet
Vani Natarajan
Kaela Peever
Mona Subramani
Mara Tanovich
Frankie Zhu

Alto 2
Parnian (Pari) Bahrami Asl
Zhihan (Candice) Jiang
Tianhui (Elisa) Ma
Seyedeh Sepideh Mirkiyaei Tamijani
Marjorie Moskaluk
Mia Paunovic
Yana Shamis
Cathy Wang
Katherine Zhu

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO SOPRANO-ALTO CHORUS

Maria Conkey, conductor
Rebeca Lluveras Matos, collaborative pianist
Melanie Yirenkyi, assistant conductor
Helena Webster, vocal coach

Soprano 1
Mai Arai
Shabnam Bahrami Asl 
Lauren Chalmers-Rizzato
Mackenzie Chalmers-Rizzato
Yan (Janice) Lam 
Yuexi (Ceci) Li
Zige Lin
Yunting (Sophie) Liu
Emily Luo
Varuni Papade
Juliana Papagni
Ana Garcia Flores
Kirsten Marie Villegas
Ashley Wang
Yunting (Fiona) Xiao
Anna Yefimenko
Yuting (Emily) Zhang

Soprano 2
Vanessa Chen 
Zhiyan (Tina) Chen
Jessica Dawdy*
Charlotte Fowler
Fiona Fu
Bienca Fung
Julie Man-Wing Fung
Elena Wu Gan
Sophia Jestadt
Wan Tong (Doris) Li
Zhuoyu (Jacqueline) Li
Yuyi (Emily) Lu
Ruo Lai (Joy) Luo
Young-Ah (Ellie) Park
Fiona Shu
Xinya (Sophia) Zhang
Joanna Zhao

Alto
Therese Benoza
Kelly Du
Bienca Fung
Nazeli Ghanaghounian
Annie An Nhi Hoang
Julia Hrelja
Min Ji Koo
Eunice Lau
Ching Lok Li
Roxolana Luzskov
Suet Kee Angela Ng
Laura Quevedo
Yifei (Alyn) Shen
Melody Shui
Jamie Stanzel
Jeanne Tsui
Danielle Vachon
Claudia Wong*
Karen Yoshida
Amanda Yu
Yutong Zhang
Ziou (Sunny) Zhao

BIOGRAPHIES 

Kathleen Allan 

Kathleen Allan is the Artistic and Executive Director of the Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto and a member of the music faculty at the University of Toronto. In high demand as a guest conductor, commissioned composer, and clinician, she is equally comfortable working in early, contemporary, and symphonic repertoire. 

Since the beginning of her tenure with the Amadeus Choir in 2019, the Choir has commissioned over a dozen new works, founded the Choral Creation Lab for emerging composers and poets, and formed new partnerships with diverse artists and ensembles throughout the GTA and beyond. From 2016-2023, she served as the Artistic Director of Canzona, Winnipeg’s professional Baroque choir, with whom she conducted many of the masterworks of the Baroque era. A devoted interpreter of early music and steeped in the practice of historically-informed performance, she is passionate about finding relevant contemporary context for the works of the past and sharing their universal power with broad audiences. Recent guest conducting engagements include the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Victoria Symphony, Regina Symphony Orchestra, Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, and Early Music Vancouver. In 2015, Ms. Allan made her Asian debut conducting Handel’s Messiah and Bach’s Christmas Oratorio in Japan, and in 2016, she was the recipient of the Sir Ernest MacMillan Prize in Choral Conducting. 

Her compositions have been commissioned, performed and recorded by ensembles throughout the Americas and Europe and have been featured at two World Symposiums on Choral Music. Her music is published by Boosey and Hawkes, Oxford University Press, and Cypress Choral Music, and she is a MusicSpoke composer. Inspired by her Celtic roots and musical upbringing in Newfoundland and Labrador, her compositions often fuse contemporary rhythms and harmonies with undertones of ancient folk music. Also an accomplished soprano, she has appeared as a soloist with the National Broadcast Orchestra, Berkshire Choral Festival, and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. In addition to freelancing regularly in Canada and the US, she has performed as a member of the Vancouver Chamber Choir, the Arnold Schoenberg Chor (Vienna), Skylark Vocal Ensemble (Atlanta), Clarion Choir (New York), and the Yale Schola Cantorum (New Haven).  

As a passionate educator, she has served as Visiting Professor of Conducting at Western University (2019-2021) and now conducts the Chamber Choir at the University of Toronto. She holds a degree in composition from the University of British Columbia and a master’s degree in conducting from Yale University.

Thomas Burton

Raised in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Thomas Burton is Artistic Director of the Orpheus Choir of Toronto, Conductor of the University of Toronto Tenor-Bass Chorus, and Artistic Director of Durham Region’s RESOUND Choir. He is co-conductor of the award winning Halifax based chamber choir, Eastern Horizon. Praised for his innovative and eclectic programming as well as his dynamic presence on the podium, Thomas is in-demand nationally as a guest conductor, clinician and educator.

Thomas is passionate about inspiring excellence in performers of all ages and abilities. He has had the privilege of working with such ensembles as the Pacific Chorale, The Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto, Pro Coro Canada, the National Youth Choir of Canada, and the Vancouver Chamber Choir. An accomplished choral singer, Thomas has sung with some of Canada’s finest choral ensembles including the Toronto Mendelssohn Singers, Voces Boreales, and the Nathaniel Dett Chorale.

Thomas is a recipient of multiple awards, including the Ken Fleet Choral Conducting Scholarship and the Sir Ernest MacMillan Memorial Foundation Award. In 2024 he was selected by Jeunesses Musicales as the inaugural recipient of the Iwan Edwards Scholarship for Young Conductors. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Trombone Performance from McGill University and a master’s degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Michigan where he studied with Dr. Jerry Blackstone and Dr. Eugene Rogers.

Yuan (Alba) Chen  

Yuan Chen holds a Bachelor of Music Education from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and a master’s degree in Choral Conducting from Memorial University. She is currently in her first year of the Doctor of Musical Arts program at the University of Toronto.    

Previously, Yuan served as the Musical Director at Nomad Stages in Stephenville, Newfoundland, where she led her choir to win the Best Choir award at the Stephenville Rotary Music Festival. This summer, she also took on the role of Music Director for the 46th Stephenville Theatre Festival, further showcasing her exceptional leadership and communication skills. Additionally, she is a guest conductor for The Atlantic Boy Choir.  

With over a decade of experience conducting choirs of all ages—from children to university students and seniors—Yuan has garnered significant accolades. She led the Chorus of the Department of History at Fudan University to a Silver Award in the Annual Chorus Competition and directed the Chorus of East China University of Political Science and Law to a Third Prize, both starting from scratch with no prior music background. 

Maria Conkey

A native of Newfoundland and Labrador, Maria Conkey (she/her), is an inspiring and innovative conductor, clinician, and pedagogue. She is passionate about using choral music to build community and nurture leadership skills in young people. In addition to beginning her Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) at the University of Toronto, she is the Artistic Director of the Oakville Choir for Children & Youth and the Outreach Coordinator at St. Michael’s Choir School. 

Maria is also the 2024-25 recipient of the Elmer Iseler National Graduate Fellowship in Choral Conducting, and a nominee for the 2023 Leslie Bell Prize for Choral Conducting. She has also received the Beryl Barnes Memorial Graduate Award and the Andreas Barban Memorial Scholarship.

Past engagements include the Junior Choir Conductor at St. Michael’s Choir School (ON) - on leave while studying, the Artistic Director of Young Voices Toronto, the Conductor of the award-winning senior choirs at St. Bonaventure’s College (NL), and the Choral Director at the Basilica of St. John the Baptist (NL). She has also worked with Shallaway - Newfoundland Youth in Chorus and several children’s, youth, and adult choirs, including the Alberta Youth Choir and the University of Alberta Madrigal Singers.

Narek Ebrahimi

Narek Abrahamian is a pianist and piano instructor with a rich background in both performance and teaching. He is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Piano Performance at the University of Toronto, after earning his Bachelor’s degree from the Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan, Armenia, where he graduated with honors.

Narek has received several prizes and awards, including first prize at the "Youth National Music Competition" and the "Alice & Armen Matheson" Entrance Scholarship from the University of Toronto. His performance highlights include concerts and recitals both as a soloist and collaborator at major venues in Tehran, Yerevan, and Toronto. He has also served as the pianist for the St. Sargis Church choir in Tehran for five years. As a recording artist, Narek has been involved in recording works by contemporary composers as both a soloist and accompanist.

Rebeca Lluveras Matos 

Born in Cuba, naturalized Mexican citizen, Rebecca began studying the piano at the age of eight. Since her early age she received numerous awards in piano competitions in her home country of Cuba. 

Ms. Lluveras completed her Bachelors of Music at the prestigious Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA) in Havana in 2005. A year later she was invited to Austria to study with maestro Harald Ossberger where she was selected for further study with the members of prestigious faculty at the University of Vienna. In 2008, she earned with honors her Master’s in Piano Methodology in Havana under the leading Cuban teacher Teresita Junco. In 2021 she earned another degree in Piano Technique and Biomechanics at the Higher School of High Performance Music (ESMAR-SPAIN). During her years in Cuba, she performed as a soloist with the Cuban Symphony Orchestra, as well as in contemporary Music Festivals. She also taught at the Instituto Superior de Arte for five years. 

In 2012 Ms. Lluveras moved to Mexico. Currently she is on the faculty at the University of the Arts of Yucatán. She has performed in the Manuel M. Ponce Hall of the Palace of Fine Arts, Blas Galindo Auditorium of the National Center of the Arts, Sala Netzahualcóyotl of the University Cultural Center of the UNAM, Centro Cultural Helénico, Teatro Degollado (Guadalajara), Sala Felipe Villanueva, (State of Mexico) José Peón Contreras Theater (Mérida, Yucatán) among others. She has also performed as a soloist with the Symphony Orchestra of the National Polytechnic Institute. She has served as a juror of the National Piano Competition at the University of Guadalajara, as well as in the internal piano competitions at the Faculty of Music of UNAM and the Escuela Superior de Música de Bellas Artes, in Mexico City.

Tyrese Walters

Tyrese Walters is a graduate of Western University with a Bachelor of Music with Honours in Voice Performance, where he studied Voice with Prof. Torin Chiles and Conducting with Prof. Kathleen Allan and Dr. Mark Ramsay. In his final year at Western, he co-led and co-conducted the Student Choral Initiative, a 20-member choir, within the Faculty of Music. He is the recipient of many awards and scholarships, including the Richard G. Manuel Music Award (2022), and the Deral Johnson Award (2022). Tyrese is continuing his studies at the University of Toronto where he will complete a Master of Music in Choral Conducting under the direction of Dr. Jamie Hillman.

Tyrese is an experienced choral singer and conductor. He is the conductor of the low-voice ensemble, “Rocambolesco,” and an associate conductor of the 60-voice youth choir “Frisson” in the MSC Choirs organization. He is the Assistant Conductor of “Encore” in the Young Voices Toronto organization. Currently, he sings in the Nathaniel Dett Chorale and Concreamus Chamber Singers.

Melanie Yirenkyi

Melanie Yirenkyi is a music educator, conductor and singer based in Toronto. Her passion for music inspired her to make the switch from biomedical sciences to music during her undergraduate studies. Melanie went on to obtain a BFA in music from York University, and later, a B.Ed from Queen’s University’s Artist in Community Education program.

Melanie is dedicated to refining her skills as a conductor and has engaged in numerous choral workshops and masterclasses, working with various choirs such as the Vancouver Chamber Choir, and learning from esteemed conductors: Eugene Rogers, Jennifer Tham, Kari Turunen, and Ragnar Rasmussen.

Melanie is presently the interim music director at Jarvis St. Baptist Church, where she has been involved in the Music Ministry as both a pianist and vocalist for over ten years. Melanie is delighted to be studying under Dr. Jamie Hillman in the Master of Music in Choral Conducting program.

TEXTS & TRANSLATIONS

Tshotsholoza (Go Forward)

Go forward!

Go on and board the train

From the mountain down in South Africa

Keep moving, run away

Go on and board the train

From the mountain down in South Africa

If Tomorrow is the Next Life

Time drifts between our breathing

When arrives the destination, have your desires resolved?

Body and mind spin around sunset and sunrise.

When the God of Death comes, has your soul reached home? 

Surrounded by performances, seems so unfamiliar and illusory

Seeking and finding, how to reconnect the fallen pearls, and how to sing the missing notes?

If tomorrow is your next life, how are you going to spend today? 

I guard life with warmth, leaving the prints of spray.

I guard health with consciousness, lightening up the wheel of life. 

Missa brevis Sancti Joannis de Deo, Hob XXII: 7

Kyrie

Kyrie eleison.
Christe eleison.
Kyrie eleison.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Gloria

Gloria in excelsis Deo.
Et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis.
Laudamus te, benedicimus te,
Adoramus te, glorificamus te.
Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam.
Domine Deus, Rex caelestis, 

Deus Pater omnipotens.
Domine Fili unigenite, Jesu Christe.
Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Filius Patris.
Qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
Qui tollis peccata mundi, suscipe deprecationem nostram.
Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, miserere nobis.
Quoniam tu solus Sanctus. Tu solus Dominus.
Tu solus Altissimus, Jesu Christe.
Cum Sancto Spiritu, in gloria Dei Patris.
Amen.

Glory be to God on high,
and on earth peace, good will towards men.
We praise thee, we bless thee,
we worship thee, we glorify thee,
we give thanks to thee for thy great glory,
O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father Almighty.
O Lord, the only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ;
O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father,
that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.
Thou that takest away the sins of the world, receive our prayer.
Thou that sittest at the right hand of God the Father, have mercy upon us.
For thou only art holy; thou only art the Lord;
thou only, O Christ, with the Holy Ghost,
art most high in the glory of God the Father.
Amen.

Credo

Credo in unum Deum.
Patrem omnipotentem,
factorem caeli et terrae,
visibilium omnium et invisibilium.
Et in unum Dominum
Jesum Christum,
Filium Dei unigenitum,
Et ex Patre natum ante omnia saecula.
Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine,
Deum verum de Deo vero.
Genitum, non factum,
consubstantialem Patri:
per quem omnia facta sunt.
Qui propter nos homines
et propter nostram salutem
descendit de caelis.

Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto
ex Maria Virgine:
Et homo factus est.

Crucifixus etiam pro nobis sub Pontio Pilato:
passus, et sepultus est.


 

Et resurrexit tertia die,
secundum scripturas.
Et ascendit in caelum:
sedet ad dexteram Patris.
Et iterum venturus est
cum gloria judicare vivos et mortuos:
Cujus regni non erit finis.

Et in Spiritum sanctum Dominum,
et vivificantem:
Qui ex Patre, Filioque procedit.
Qui cum Patre, et Filio simul adoratur,
et conglorificatur:
Qui locutus est per Prophetas.

Et unam, sanctam, catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam.
Confiteor unum baptisma
in remissionem peccatorum.
Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum
Et vitam venturi saeculi.
Amen.

I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth,
and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord,
Jesus Christ,
Only begotten Son of God,
Begotten of his Father before all worlds.
God of God, light of light,
Very God of very God.
Begotten, not made,
being of one substance with the Father:
by whom all things were made.
Who for us men
and for our salvation
came down from heaven.

And was incarnate by the Holy Ghost
of the Virgin Mary:
And was made man.

And was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate:
suffered, and was buried.

And the third day He rose again
according to the scriptures.
And ascended into heaven,
and sitteth at the right hand of the Father
And He shall come again
with glory to judge the living and the dead:
His kingdom shall have no end.

And (I believe in) the Holy Ghost, Lord
and giver of life:
Who proceedeth from the Father and Son.
Who with the Father and Son
together is worshipped and glorified:
Who spake by the Prophets.

And in one holy catholic and apostolic church.
I acknowledge one baptism
for the remission of sins.
And I look for the resurrection of the dead
And the life of the world to come.
Amen.

Sanctus

Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus,
Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua.
Osanna in excelsis.

Benedictus qui venit
in nomine Domini.
Osanna in excelsis.

Holy, holy, holy
Lord God of Hosts.
Heaven and earth are full of thy glory.
Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is he that cometh
in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

Benedictus

Benedictus qui venit
in nomine Domini.
Hosanna in excelsis.

Blessed is he who comes
in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

Agnus Dei

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona nobis pacem.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant us peace.

Ave Regina Caelorum

Ave Regina caelorum,
Ave Domina Angelorum,
Salve radix, salve porta,
Ex qua mundo lux est orta.

Gaude, Virgo gloriosa,
Super omnes speciosa,
Vale, O valde decora!
Et pro nobis Christum exora.

Hail, Queen of Heaven.
Hail, Lady of Angels
Hail, thou root, hail, thou gate
From whom into the world, a light has arisen:

Rejoice, glorious Virgin,
Lovely above all others,
Farewell, most beautiful maiden,
And pray for us to Christ.

牧歌（Pastoral Song）

Cuì lǜ di cǎo dì shàng, pǎo zhe bái yáng.

翠 绿的草 地 上， 跑 着 白 羊

On the lush green grassland, white sheep are running.

Yáng qún xiàng zhēn zhū sā zài lǜ róng shàng.

羊 群 像 珍 珠 撒 在 绿 绒 上

The flock of sheep is like pearls scattered on the green velvet.

Wú biān di cǎo yuán shì wǒ men di gù xiāng.

无 边 的 草 原 是 我 们的 故 乡。

The boundless grassland is our homeland.

Bái yún hé qīng tiān shì wǒ men di péng zhàng.

白 云 和 青 天 是 我 们 的 蓬 帐。

White clouds and the blue sky are our tent.

Zǎo xiá yíng jiē wǒ, zì yóu di gē chàng.

早 霞 迎 接 我 自 由 的 歌 唱。

The morning glow greets me, and I sing freely.

Shēng huó shì zhè yàng, xìng fú huān chàng.

生 活 是 这 样，幸 福 欢 畅。

Life is like this, full of happiness and joy.

Ticket Prices: $30 Adult, $20 Senior, $10 Student. 
University of Toronto students with a valid T-Card are admitted free at the door (space permitting, some exceptions apply). No ticket reservation necessary.