Home Page – Echo Women's Choir https://www.echochoir.ca Sat, 08 Aug 2026 16:51:43 +0000 en-CA hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.3 https://www.echochoir.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/cropped-EC3-32x32.jpg Home Page – Echo Women's Choir https://www.echochoir.ca 32 32 Join ECHO Choir this fall! https://www.echochoir.ca/echofallseason2026/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=echofallseason2026 Sat, 08 Aug 2026 15:10:02 +0000 https://www.echochoir.ca/?p=2956 Join ECHO Choir this fall!
You’re invited to sing with a welcoming community in a beautiful historic building.

ECHO’S Fall Season begins Tuesday, Sept. 8, 7–9pm, 2026

Holy Trinity Church, by the Eaton Centre, accessible south doors.
19 Trinity Square, Dundas Subway Station MAP
Paid parking under Bell Trinity Square, entrance on the east side of Bay, north of Queen.

WHAT’S NEW THIS TERM
We have formally changed our name to ECHO Choir to emphasize our inclusivity as an adult treble-voice, non-auditioned choir which welcomes women, trans and non-binary folks. We remain a strong, inclusive, mutually supportive community in the heart of Toronto, which has been committed to a unique and eclectic repertoire focusing on social justice, musical excellence and passionate expression since 1991.

We look forward to working with Katie White as our new Artistic Director. Katie has experience in a variety of musical contexts, including opera, musical theatre, and choral leadership. She has worked with our former Artistic Director, Alan Gasser, for the past three years and is eager to build on our legacy as well as to introduce new repertoire to the choir. 

We bid farewell to our longstanding Artistic Director, Alan Gasser, who contributed so much to Echo over his 33 years of leadership. Alan will continue to support Echo in a consultative role.

Rehearsals will be held on Tuesdays and the occasional Saturday at Church of the Holy Trinity, beside the Eaton Centre. MAP (See schedule below.) We will have a workshop, open rehearsal, orientation for new members, sectionals, break-end singing, and more! We will be learning and practising new songs in preparation for our winter concert, Dec. 6, at Holy Trinity.

Season Fees are $200. (Sept. 8 – Dec. 6)
We make singing accessible to all through sliding scale membership fees.

If you would like to join us or have questions, please contact Anne:
info.echo@gmail.com

Echo accepts donations through Canadahelps

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Echo Fall Schedule  
Church of the Holy Trinity
Saturday Workshop 10-12:30pm tba

September  *all Tuesdays 7-9pm (6:30- 9pm)
Tues. 8
Tues. 15 Orientation for new members
Tues. 22 Open Rehearsal & Welcome Tea
Tues. 29
October 
Tues.  6
Tues. 13
Tues. 20
Tues. 27
November
Tues. 3 No rehearsal at Holy Trinity, sectionals at member homes
Tues. 10 AGM  
Tues. 17
Tues. 24
December
Tues. 1
Sat. Dec. 5, Dress Rehearsal, 10-2pm (9:30pm arrival)
Sun. Dec.6, Concert 7:30pm (arrival 6pm)

Spring Concert 2026, ECHO Choir, Alumnae and special guest Lynn Harrison.

Echo Mission Statement
Echo is an adult, treble-voice, non-auditioned choir which welcomes women, including trans and non-binary folks in a strong, inclusive, mutually supportive community in the heart of Toronto. Ever since its founding as a women’s choir in 1991, Echo has been committed to a unique and eclectic repertoire focusing on social justice, musical excellence and passionate expression. We collaborate frequently with musicians who enrich our repertoire with music from diverse cultures and in a broad range of genres.

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Winter Concert 2025, Illustration Allison Sletcher

TRU EARTH

Canada Post Delivery. On strike now.
Sustainable household cleaning products:
special holiday deals.

Start with the Echo link please, so that we get the 20% cut.

Echo Singing at City Hall, Photo by Elizabeth Littlejohn

]]> Echo Choir Videos https://www.echochoir.ca/echo-choir-videos/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=echo-choir-videos Thu, 11 Feb 2021 11:51:22 +0000 https://www.echochoir.ca/?p=1566

Echo Women's Choir

The Echo Women's Choir is a community choir from Toronto, for women's voices. We sing music from community traditions around the world, in English and also many other languages. Echo is dedicated to diversity, inclusivity and social justice. This channel is for videos of our performances, at the Church of the Holy Trinity and other locations around Toronto. New videos released weekly!

Echo Women's Choir
concert video with guest Andrew Craig and Echo singers
Echo Choir spring concert on Mothers' Day Hold On 1:11 The Captives’ Hymn 7:29 Alaska 10:25 Temagami Round (Dirty Water Song) 14:05 Ballad of Springhill 18:46 O Lilium Convallium 22:17 By My Side 24:14 Heyamoli 27:25 The Ash Grove 32:42 I’ll ay ca’ in by yon toon 35:03 One Voice 38:16 Open My Heart 43:05 Encouragement 50:30 Tsmindao ghmerto (Svan setting) 53:30 You Will Be Free 55:29 Lucky Star 58:32 I Would Recognize You Anywhere 1:03:59 Why Do Trees Look Like My Hands 1:08:16 Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream 1:16:58 Deep Blue Sea 1:19:48 Aralo (cycling song) 1:23:07 A Message 1:26:33 Bread and Roses 1:30:30 Invitation/Une Invitation 1:33:44 [1st surprise encore] Better Times 1:36:22
Premiere of a new piece on May 4th, 2025. Commissioned with assistance of the Ontario Arts Council, and in collaboration with the community of Echo. A loving tribute/portrait of the waterways of the city of Tkaronto/Toronto. Streams -- the undergrounded watercourses beneath the city's streets 00:10 River -- the Humber in the West-End of the city 4:02 Lake -- the majestic beauty of our Great Lake Ontario 7:27 audio recording by Dave Butko, video by Peter Turner music and words Ⓒ,℗ Annabelle Chvostek, 2025
Founded in 1991, Echo is a non-auditioned community choir, open to women of all ages from a diversity of cultural, racial and religious backgrounds. We sing an eclectic repertoire, including world music, Canadian compositions, and songs that address social justice, the environment, and world peace. Echo presents two concerts each year, featuring guest artists who have worked with the choir to introduce new skills, insights and songs. In September 2023, the multi-talented Andrew Craig offered a dynamic workshop for choir members. Echo welcomed members of the Toronto Children’s Concert Choir (TC3), with whom we’ve collaborated in past years. This was part of a pandemic initiative by Echo to expand its engagement with a diversity of communities in Toronto and the GTA. The video is part of the ECHO!! Revived project, funded by a Canada Council for the Arts Digital Now grant. We are deeply grateful for this government commitment to Community Music and the Arts in Canada; and we acknowledge ongoing support from the Toronto Arts Council. Directed, filmed and edited by Carlos Coronado, https://www.coronadofilms.ca/ Connect with the Echo Choir: https://www.echochoir.ca/
Founded in 1991, Echo is a non-auditioned community choir, open to women of all ages from a diversity of cultural, racial and religious backgrounds. We sing an eclectic repertoire, including world music, Canadian compositions, and songs that address social justice, the environment, and world peace. Echo presents two concerts each year, featuring guest artists who have worked with the choir to introduce new skills, insights and songs. In October 2023, Echo hosted a visit by South African choral composer and teacher Bongani Magatyana. In conjunction with the Toronto Children’s Concert Choir (TC3), our choir shared workshops with Chief Dan George Public School and Sistema Toronto, besides an evening workshop for our own choir and a full-weekend public workshop. This was part of a pandemic initiative by Echo to expand its engagement with a diversity of communities in Toronto and the GTA. The video is part of the ECHO!! Revived project, funded by a Canada Council for the Arts Digital Now grant. We are deeply grateful for this government commitment to Community Music and the Arts in Canada; and we acknowledge ongoing support from the Toronto Arts Council. Directed, filmed and edited by Carlos Coronado, https://www.coronadofilms.ca/ Connect with the Echo Choir: https://www.echochoir.ca/
On Mothers' Day, May 14, Echo hosted Annabelle Chvostek as our special guest, for a concert that celebrated many classic songs from before our years of isolation, as well as some of her songs we'd sung over Zoom. What a grand feeling it was, to re-awaken in public harmony, with a warm and lively audience. Special thanks to the Canada Council for the Arts which encouraged us by sponsoring a number of our workshops, and video production plans during this special period of rebuilding. 00:16 Father James’s Song 4:50 I’ll ay ca’ in by yon town 10:42 These Times (words by John Krumm) 12:49 Hay una mujer 19:18 Bridget’s Fire 23:35 Grey Funnel Line 26:47 Earth Chant 30:09 Skagit Valley Forever 33:10 Erdő mélyén, esti csendben 38:32 Ia mtazeda (with Michelangelo Iaffaldano) 44:46 Firefly (Annabelle Chvostek, with Rachel Melas) 48:37 Walls 53:30 String of Pearls 1:01:11 Now Is the Cool of the Day 1:06:53 Enough is Enough 1:13:56 Greenbelt Blues (words by Susan Daly and Joyce Hall)
Music by Malvina Reynolds, Ontario words by Susan Daly and Joyce Hall, for the Echo Women's Choir. Alan Gasser, Artistic Director & Becca Whitla, piano. Audio recorded at The Tranzac Club, Toronto, Apr 20 2023. Lyrics here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bkuLnNcNP6j1KNtu2E_ii0DUk9LcWlQP/view?usp=sharing
On Dec 4 2022, Common Thread Community Choir joined Echo Choir as special guests, almost exactly 3 years after we sang as their guests at Eastminster Church. In-between was an extended break from public singing, and a re-awakening. Special thanks to the Canada Council for the Arts which encouraged us by sponsoring a number of our plans for this season and next, including workshops, and video production. 0:00 Thula (Echo and Common Thread) 5:00 Where ARE we? (A Land Acknowledgement) 9:26 She’s Like the Swallow (Common Thread) 11:15 Oshwitsate 14:11 You Are My Sister 16:41 We Were There 21:55 Log Driver’s Waltz 24:32 Talkin’ ’Bout a Revolution 29:21 What Happens When a Woman (both choirs) 32:12 Quiet 35:20 Sholem, Sholem, Sholem (Echo) 42:30 Merisuli 46:40 Those Gambler’s Blues 50:28 To My Old Brown Earth 52:24 Beautiful Fools 1:00:04 Grandma 1:02:29 500 Miles 1:08:42 Hope (both choirs) 1:11:44 Joyful Banner Blazing
Singer songwriter Maria Dunn, fresh off her 2022 Juno win for Traditional Roots Album, came to Toronto in November 2022 to work with Echo and Common Thread Community Chorus. It was a joy to work with Maria to learn some of her songs, arranged for choir. This video features Maria talking about her music, the story behind the song “Joyful Banner Blazing,” and her relationship with Echo Women’s Choir. It also documents the process of Echo learning "Joyful Banner Blazing", the title piece from Maria's latest album. The video is part of the ECHO!! Revived project, funded by a Canada Council for the Arts Digital Now grant. We are deeply grateful for this government commitment to Community Music and the Arts in Canada. Directed, filmed and edited by Carlos Coronado, https://www.coronadofilms.ca/ Connect with the Echo Choir: https://www.echochoir.ca/ Buy Maria Dunn's music and learn about upcoming concerts and events: https://www.mariadunn.com/
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