Ottawa chosen to host next Unison Choral Festival

June 1, 2010 · Filed Under Blog, Festivals and Events

Ottawa to host national choral festival in 2014

Unison Festival to bring 500+ choristers from across the country to nation’s capital

Hundreds of singers from across Canada will converge on Ottawa on the 2014 for the Unison Festival, one of Canada’s largest choral festivals.

The decision to name Ottawa as host city was made during the 2010 Unison Festival in Winnipeg by voting representatives of participating choirs. The Unison Festival is a quadrennial festival for GLBTT choirs in Canada. The 2010 edition saw 500 singers from 15 choirs converge on Winnipeg for three days of singing, sharing and celebrating.

“We are thrilled to be chosen as host city for Unison 2014,” said Gianluca Ragazzini, who coordinated the proposal group. He is a former president of Tone Cluster and of the Ottawa Gay Men’s Chorus, as well as an active member of both choirs. “The challenge now is to make this the biggest and the best Unison ever.”

Like previous festivals, the 2014 edition will feature concerts, receptions, and social events. But a special edition of “The Show Tune Showdown” will also take place during the festival. The Show Tune Showdown is a fundraising event created by Tone Cluster member Rob Bowman for the choir. The 2010 edition (the fifth) saw a sold-out crowd at the Ottawa Little Theatre cheer on teams from three theatre companies as they competed for top scores from celebrity judges with songs from musicals. Tone Cluster has agreed to integrate this concert with the festival for 2014.

Ottawa has been a faithful participant in Unison festivals. Both Tone Cluster and Ottawa Gay Men’s Chorus (OGMC) have attended Unison festivals regularly.

“OGMC is thrilled to be one of the host choirs for the 2014 Unison Festival. With 24 years of continuous presence as a gay choir in the Capital, OGMC initiated the first joint concert by Canadian Gay and Lesbian choirs in 1991 when we sang with Ottawa Women’s Chorus, Rocky Mountain Singers (of Calgary), Toronto Gay Men’s Chorus, and Vancouver Gay Men’s Chorus in the Centrepointe Theatre. 23 years later, the 2014 event will underline the progress accomplished in extending the outreach and social impact of the gay and lesbian choral movement in Canada. Each time that a choir member walks on stage, he or she becomes a model for youth and for society in general, and the wonderful aspect of these festivals is that they provide the opportunity to repeat this gesture hundreds of times,” said Claude Dufresne, President of the OGMC.

“Tone Cluster sees Unison 2014 in Ottawa as a natural step forward for a queer arts community that has strong traditions in the fight for equality and celebration of diversity,” said Sarah Wibberley, president of Tone Cluster.

Ottawa’s rabid support of music festivals, from the Kiwanis festival to the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival and popular music festivals in the summer, also make the Unison 2014 festival a likely winner in terms of attracting audiences.

Planning will continue over the summer and announcements on venues and other parts of the festival are expected in the near future.

Tags: Tone Cluster, Unison Choral Festival