Chor Leoni's Annual Singing Festival Will Return Under New Name 'The Big Roar'

Chor Leoni, and its professional ensemble The Leonids, will present Harmonia: The Leonids & Chor Leoni, a captivating celebration of pure a cappella harmony, on stage at St. Andrew’s-Wesley United (1022 Nelson Street) on April 11, 2024 at 7:30pm. The fully a cappella program features a diverse selection of Chant, Polyphony, folk songs, pop songs, and world premieres, including a new work from Canadian composer Robyn Jacob.

Next is the annual festival summit concert, now renamed The Big Roar, on April 13, 2024 at 5:00pm at St. Andrew’s-Wesley United (1022 Nelson Street). This celebration of singing features all of Chor Leoni’s programs and choirs in an uplifting and hope-filled celebration of the human voice. Both events anchor a dynamic week of mentorship, rehearsals, and performances for Chor Leoni, The Leonids, and Chor Leoni’s MYVoice and Emerging Choral Artist youth programs. The Big Roar festival’s renaming coincides with an organizational change, as Chor Leoni has officially dropped the gendered words "Men’s Choir" from its name.

“From the start, the goal of Chor Leoni was to bring together good people, with good voices, with good musicianship skills, and a shared passion for singing,” says Erick Lichte, Artistic Director of Chor Leoni. “In the past 11 years of my tenure with the choir, there have been seismic changes in the way gender is understood and expressed in our mainstream culture. We came to recognize that the term 'Men’s Choir' no longer reflected the internal community of singers, and needlessly used gender to describe the ranges, sound, and spirit of this beloved Canadian ensemble.”

Starting in the Fall of 2022, Chor Leoni began to remove gender-related language in the organization’s communications and literature. This process coincided with the development of a new strategic plan and involved consultation with an EDI consultant. In January 2023, the choir approved its official name change to “Chor Leoni Choral Society,” marking a pivotal moment in its history. Moving forward, the choir of 70 tenors, baritones and basses will continue to use its lion head logo and perform with its signature style and sound.

Adds Lichte: “With these changes in our language and description, we are furthering and honouring the brave and inclusive spirit of Chor Leoni's founding. As we did 32 years ago, we are trying our best, for our times, to break down needless barriers to the transformational power of the music we sing. Our festival, now known as 'The Big Roar,' gets right to the heart of our mission of connecting people and creating community through song.”

The choral summit, hosted by Chor Leoni, promises a week filled with mentorship, workshops, and rehearsals for over 200 participants, and provides audiences with an opportunity to experience the best choral music of today and witness the art form's hope for tomorrow. The Big Roar is the culmination of a rich week of music and connection, where singers from The Leonids, Chor Leoni, MYVoice, Prélude youth choirs, and the Emerging Choral Artists unite to form Canada’s largest lower voice choir for a spectacular one-night-only performance. The concert will feature a wide variety of songs, from an arrangement of a Visayan lullaby and choral classics such as ‘We Rise Again’, to the world premiere of new pieces by Canadian composers Laura Hawley and Chris Sivak.

The Leonids is an eight-member professional ensemble under the direction of Chor Leoni’s Artistic Director Erick Lichte. The ensemble serves as the professional headline choir for Chor Leoni’s annual Big Roar Choral Summit and as an educational, inspirational, and aspirational force for this festival and beyond. In addition to their active solo careers, these extraordinary singers have sung with Chanticleer, Conspirare, Trinity Church Wall Street, Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Clarion Choir, TENET, Skylark, Phoenix Chorale, ANÚNA, and more. 

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