The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir is a Canadian large vocal ensemble based in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

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The choir was co-founded in 1894 by Augustus S. Vogt and W. H. Hewlett

W. H. Hewlett

William Henry Hewlett was a Canadian organist, conductor, composer, and music educator of English birth.-Early life and education:...

. The ensemble was originally an extension of the choir of Jarvis St. Baptist Church in Toronto which Vogt directed and Hewlett accompanied. The choir is named after composer Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy.

The choir has over 150 voices. They are mostly auditioned amateur volunteers with a professional core of 20. The chamber

Chamber choir

A chamber choir or group of chamber singers is the choral equivalent of a chamber ensemble, using voices instead of instruments. This prestigious choir will usually consist of 20-40 elite and dedicated singers. Several chamber choir formats exist, ranging from barbershop groups to exclusively...

 sized 70-voice Toronto Mendelssohn Singers is formed from the Choir.

The choir performs choral masterpieces throughout Canada and has also toured in the United States and Europe including Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....

, Royal Albert Hall

Royal Albert Hall

The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....

, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Kennedy Center and major venues in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

, Salzburg

Salzburg

-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...

 and Prague

Prague

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

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Recordings

The ensemble has many recordings on the EMI/Angel and Naxos labels. The choir has appeared on movie soundtracks including the award-winning 1993 soundtrack to Schindler's List

Schindler's List

Schindler's List is a 1993 American film about Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand mostly Polish-Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories. The film was directed by Steven Spielberg, and based on the novel Schindler's Ark...

 (uncredited) under the direction of conductor/composer John Williams.

Conductors

• Herbert A. Fricker
• Sir Ernest MacMillan
• Frederick Silvester
• Walter Susskind
  Walter Susskind
  Jan Walter Susskind was a Czech-born British conductor.-Biography:Susskind was born in Prague, Austria–Hungary, now the Czech Republic. His father was a Viennese music critic and his Czech mother was a piano teacher. At the State Conservatorium he studied under composer Josef Suk, the son-in-law...
  
  
• Elmer Iseler
  Elmer Iseler
  Elmer Walter Iseler, OC was a Canadian choir conductor and choral editor. He was the conductor of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and founder of the Festival Singers of Canada and the Elmer Iseler Singers....
  
  
• Noel Edison
  Noel Edison
  Noel Edison, is a Canadian conductor. He is the conductor of the Elora Festival Singers, Artistic Director of the Elora Festival and the conductor of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir....
  
  (current)