CONDUCTOR
Choir - Artistic Director
FLOURISH Women's Choir
Toronto, ON
2019-2020
Recording: Da Pacem; Jeff Enns
During the summer of 2015, William Brown created an exciting and innovative plan to launch FLOURISH Women’s Choir. Having retired as a music educator from Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute in June 2018, William decided the time was right to launch the initiative, “the FLOURISH project” in January of 2019. The recruitment of membership would be primarily focused on both current and vocal graduates from LPCI, as well as seasoned choral singers wishing a new opportunity to sing advanced repertoire for women’s voices. On the evening of Wednesday, January 16, 2019, “the FLOURISH project” was launched. The results of the choir were heard in its debut concert. FLOURISH Women’s Choir reimagined the art of choral singing with its refreshing approach. The choir began its journey by casting aside the traditional private rehearsal space and opting for an unconventional public space. Located in a 5-storey, floor-to-ceiling glass atrium, at Toronto’s CASA Condominium, the choir has rehearsed in the Lobby Loft, situated 2-storeys above the main entrance doors. Residents and guests would arrive and/or depart to the glorious soaring sounds of the choir in this cathedral-like environment. Residents frequently found a comfortable place to sit in the lobby and listen as the choir rehearsed. Research studies focused on the impact of choral music in society have overwhelmingly demonstrated that communities having a choral organization flourish. In Japan, the Japanese government has mandated that all villages and prefectures have a minimum of at least one choral organization for its people. FLOURISH Women’s Choir utilized the Sakura or cherry blossom tree for its visual image. The Sakura branch represented ‘Strength and Community’, the blossom, represented ‘Elegance and Beauty’, while the base of the tree including roots represented ‘A Sense of Being Grounded’. The Sakura branch features five blossoms, each blossom representing how one’s well-being will be improved by singing in and/or hearing the choir. The blossoms each represent one’s psychological well-being, emotional well-being, social well-being, physical well-being, and musical well-being. With the success of “the FLOURISH project”, during the initial six months, the choir continued its journey until the onset of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic at which time the has taken a permanent unfortunate hiatus.
FLOREAT Women's Choir & AURUM Vocal Ensemble
Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute
Toronto District School Board, Toronto, ON
2006-2018
Recording: Land of the Silver Birch [Commission]; Arr. Joey Williamson (Performed by FLOREAT Women's Choir)
Recording: A Jubilant Song; Norman Dello Joio
(Performed by AURUM Women's Choir)
For over ninety years, Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute has been an important part of the North Toronto community. From the school’s inception, Lawrence Park’s administrators, teachers, students, and parents have worked together to support academic excellence. The school remains committed to providing a rich and varied program, and regularly ranks as one of Canada’s most respected and decorated high schools. Lawrence Park offers three streams of music: band, strings, and vocal, and has over 300 students each week participate in its music ensembles. The Music Department at LPCI consistently receives top honours in the Toronto Kiwanis Music Festival and has earned numerous provincial and national awards. The department presents two full concerts annually, and ensembles perform at school and community functions throughout the year. From 2005 to 2014, junior music students attended an annual fall music camp, and every other year the school’s ensembles participate in a performance tour. In April 2014, the LPCI Senior Concert Band, LPCI Senior String Orchestra, and the LPCI FLOREAT Women’s Choir toured in and around New York City. From April 1 to 5, 2016, over one hundred LPCI music ensemble members participated in a music performance tour to Chicago, Illinois. From April 25 to 30, 2018, the LPCI Music Department embarked on a Canadian Tour to Quebec City, Quebec; Lunenburg, Nova Scotia; Halifax, Nova Scotia, Moncton, New Brunswick; and Montreal, Quebec. The LPCI music department is regarded as a model of excellence for the Toronto District School Board. During William’s final years at LPCI, the music department had eight premiere ensembles: LPCI Symphonic String Orchestra, Junior String Orchestra, Senior String Orchestra, Sapphire Stage Band, FLOREAT Choir, AURUM Vocal Ensemble, AZURE Vocal Ensemble, and the LPCI Concert Band. During this time, the music department was led by Band/Strings/Vocal teacher William Brown.
ORIANA Women’s Choir
Toronto, ON
1996-2011
Recording: Be Thou My Vision [Commission]; Ruth Watson Henderson
Recording: Grown Up Christmas List; Arr. Teena Chin
Recording: Welcome, Yule; William Brown
ORIANA Women’s Choir was formed in 1972 and has sung under the direction of John Hodgins (1972-1977), John Ford (1977-1996) and William Brown (1996-2011). The choir consistently achieved and maintained high levels of vocal and musical excellence. Great care was taken to choose music suited to the female voice, to present music that has already earned its place in the repertoire, and to introduce audiences to new music by contemporary composers, including new works by Canadian composers commissioned by ORIANA Women’s Choir. In its long history the choir has earned much recognition and has won many awards in Canada and abroad. ORIANA was successful at the provincial, national quarter-final, and national final levels of the biennial CBC National Choral Competition for Amateur Choirs (Equal Voice – Women 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010). The choir was also awarded “Best Performance of a Canadian Work – Adult Choir Categories” in the national live finals in 2002 performing William Brown’s composition “Quant j’ai ouy le tabourin”. Rose Trilogy, by Eleanor Daley, commissioned by the choir for its 30th Anniversary, was awarded “Outstanding Choral Work” of 2004 by the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors. ORIANA participated at FESTIVAL 500 Sharing the Voices – An International Festival of Choral Music and Celebration of Song in St. John’s, NL July 2 to 11, 2005. In addition to presenting its annual series of three concerts, ORIANA was involved in a variety of other projects. The choir was selected by audition to perform at PODIUM 2002, the national biennial conference of the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors in Toronto in May 2002. The choir released five commercial CDs, Be Thou My Vision (2008), Cinnamon and Cedar (2007), Comfort and Joy (2005), Child with the Starry Crayon (2004,) When Music Sounds (2000), and was also featured on promotional CDs for Alliance Music Publications, Hinshaw Music, EC Schirmer, and earthsongs Publishing, all in the United States. The choir has been guest artist and has presented benefit concerts for many other worthy organizations. It has presented a joint concert with the Victoria Scholars for the Association of Canadian Women Composers and participated in the International Festival of Women in Song at the University of Toronto. The choir sang as guest artists in concerts at Kingsway Lambton United Church in Etobicoke, Cathedral of St. Catherine’s in St. Catharines, Ontario, and Music Monday Series at the Church of The Holy Trinity, Toronto. In the winter of 2004 the choir joined with the women’s choir at the University of Toronto to present a concert and traveled to Kingston to present a joint concert with Cantabile Women’s Choir, and Chorale de Jesu of Montreal. The choir also presented excerpts of “Song of Survival” with Canada’s National Ballet School. In 2006, the choir was presented the National Award for “Innovative Choir Programming” by the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors, 2004. During William Brown’s tenure with the choir, he over saw the Commissioning of 65 new choral works by Canadian Composers. (Ruth Warson Henderson, Eleanor Daley, Imant Raminsh, Stephen Hatfield, Stephen Chatman, John Beckwith, Jon Washburn, Timothy Phelan)
Recording: Child with the Starry Crayon [Commission]; Eleanor Daley
Recording: When Music Sounds; Ruth Watson Henderson
Norseman Chamber Choir
Norseman Junior Middle School
Toronto, ON
1997-2001
The Norseman Chamber Choir comprised of thirty-five young women between the ages of eleven and fourteen years of age led by their teacher William Brown. Here is an outstanding example of the effectiveness of exposure to the arts and musical training on the development of public school’s students under founder and conductor William Brown’s leadership. The choir was awarded 1st Prize and a Festival Scholarship at the 2001 Kiwanis Music Festival. Their performance of Handel’s “Ombra mai fu’ from the opera Xerses is flawless, with a mature sensitivity and musicality, blending their voices sublimely with the Senior Strings. Canadian composer Srul Irving Glick’s “Psalm 23” from the “Psalm Trilogy” commissioned by the Toronto Children’s Chorus. This is beautiful music, sung and played in a mood of prayerful exultation. “Micma’q Honour Song” is a chant celebrating the Creator. This difficult a cappella work leaves only nine girls on stage with the remaining twenty-six evenly spaced around the sanctuary’s balcony. They use sounds from nature, rainstick, and a tambourin to perform this haunting devotion.
The Woodstock Fanshawe Singers
Woodstock, ON
1987-1997
Recording: CBC Radio National Choral Competition Finals (1992) Jerusalem Surge; J.E. Ronan
The Woodstock Fanshawe Singers were formed in the fall of 1984, with the intent of augmenting Woodstock’s existing fine choral tradition with a choir that would perform a select and challenging body of choral literature. In past seasons, the Woodstock Fanshawe Singers have presented a variety of concert programmes which have been greeted with enthusiasm and acclaim. The Woodstock Fanshawe Singers have received some of Canada’s highest honours. In 1992, both the Men’s and Women’s Choirs won the Provincial level of the CBC National Choral Competition for Amateur Choirs. In the finals, the Men’s choir received 1st Prize, and the Women’s Choir was one of four National finalists. As a result, the WFS was featured on CBC National Radio. In June 1993, the WFS was selected as one of twenty Canadian choirs to give a full concert at the International Choral Festival in Toronto. The choir also won the 1994 Provincial level of the CBC Choral Competition for Men’s and Women’s choirs and represented Ontario at the National Finals. During William Brown’s tenure with the WFS, the choir commissioned twenty-three new choral works by Canadian composers Nancy Telfer, Jonathan Brown, and Francois Lukawecki.
Huron Park Secondary School
Woodstock, ON
1994-1997
During William’s time at Huron Park Secondary School, the Huron Park Singers won ten 1st Prize Awards in both the London Kiwanis Music Festival and the Woodstock Rotary Music Festival. The choir also performed at the 1995 Woodstock Rotary Community Carol Sing and as Guest Artists with the Woodstock Fanshawe Singers in 1996.
Theatre Western – The University of Western Ontario
London, ON
1988-1990
While Music Director at Theatre Western, William Brown conducted the Gilbert and Sullivan classic ‘The Pirates of Penzance’ with Orchestra London and the outlandish Kander and Ebb Musical Cabaret’. Under his baton, both productions played to capacity houses and received rave reviews.