I Coristi Chamber Choir - Profile

from Canada

How did you travel to Llangollen?

From Edmonton in Alberta to Llangollen is about 4146 miles (6670km).

How many members are in your group?

20 - 29

What is the age range of your group?

Early 20's on

When and why was your group formed?

i Coristi was formed in the fall of 1994 by Dr. Debra Cairns and is a community based choir of 18 to 22 singers. The name i Coristi comes from Italian and means "The Choral Singers". Auditions are held annually, and membership encompasses a broad cross section of the Edmonton community.

How often and do you rehearse?

Once a week at St. Timothy's Anglican Church in Edmonton, Alberta

How many times does your group perform every year?

0 - 5

Have you performed in any other festivals and competitions in your own country?

i Coristi is honoured to have achieved a second place finish the 2008 CBC National Radio Competition for Amateur Choirs after having also placed second in the chamber choir category in 2006. The choir is also honoured to have been one of only 13 Canadian choirs selected to perform at Podium (the national biennial conference of the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors) in Toronto in May 2002, and at the Podium conference in Winnipeg in May 2004.

What is the name of your conductor/leader?

Dr. Debra Cairns

Give us a short biography of your conductor/leader

A native of London, Ontario, founding and current director, Dr. Debra Cairns is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is a Full Professor in the Department of Music at the University of Alberta where she co-supervises the graduate program in choral conducting, teaches undergraduate conducting, and directs the University of Alberta Concert Choir. Maintaining an interest in research, Debra Cairns has had articles on the music of the Renaissance composer, Palestrina, published in the Choral Journal and Anacrusis, and has had her edition of Palestrina's Missa Ave Regina Coelorum published by Carus-Verlag of Stuttgart, Germany. Increasingly active as a conference presentor both nationally and internationally, she has given several sessions on her current area of research interest, the relationship of gesture to sound. She serves on many committees both at the university and within the Edmonton community and is active as a clinician and adjudicator in Alberta and other parts of Canada. In 2002 Debra Cairns was honoured to have been nominated for the Syncrude Canada Award for Innovative Artistic Direction in recognition of her work with i Coristi.

What do you hope to achieve at Llangollen?

The choir is celebrating our 15th Anniversary Season, and we hope to achieve full honours at the festival, while celebrating our achievements this past year through the refinement of our repertoire and enjoying all that the festival has to offer! It will be a great chance for the choir to show what we are "made of", and for us to enjoy our achievements of the past years.

What is your website's address?

http://www.icoristi.com