Nova Scotia Choral Federation

Nova Scotia Choral Federation

Nova Scotia Choral Federation (NSCF). Established in 1976 under the leadership of Ruth A. Lawley in Halifax, the federation is a voluntary, non-profit organization that exists to serve the choral community while raising public awareness of choral music and encouraging high standards of artistic achievement. Funding is maintained through membership and program fees, fundraising activities, and continuing grants from the Nova Scotia Dept of Tourism and Culture. An elected board of directors, composed of approximately 16 members, is drawn from the NSCF membership.

The federation manages several programs that involve weekend and week-long workshops and festivals. The Choral Conducting and Apprenticeship Program, inaugurated in 1981, is an intensive week-long course in choral conducting.

Suas e! is a week-long, biennial choir festival held on Cape Breton Island where young choristers come together to perform in mini-concerts in schools and churches, and to participate in conducting masterclasses. For the final concert, diverse groups come together to form the Treble and Mixed Voice Festival Choirs. In the summer months, the NSCF organizes junior, youth and adult choir camps. Since 2000, the NSCF has been involved with Perform!, an interdisciplinary program that brings choral, dance and theatre artists into schools across Nova Scotia.

The NSCF established the Nova Scotia Youth Choir (NSYC) in 1991. It is composed of 35-40 singers aged 16-25 and often premieres new repertoire by Maritime composers. Here's to Song by Alister MacGillivray was commissioned for the choir's fifth anniversary.

The federation publishes a quarterly newsletter called Chorus, and a biannual event calender entitled Halfnotes, maintains a website, and operates a music lending library; it also acts as a resource for other choral needs such as publicity, rehearsals, and grant applications. The NSCF offers annual bursaries to choristers who wish to take part in choir camps.

An Honorary Life Membership in the NSCF was awarded to Irene McQuillan Murphy in 1986 for her pioneering work in the musical education and choral development of students in the Halifax school system and throughout Nova Scotia.

See also Choral singing