The 2022 – 2023 season celebrates the 20th year of Music, Leadership and Community with the Cantiamo Choirs of Ottawa!
Twenty years ago, a small group of girls was brought together to sing If I Were the Moon for the Canadian Writer’s Festival. Canadian author Sheree Fitch, who wrote the beautiful poem, was the keynote speaker for the event. Canadian composer James Wright had set this poem to music and Sheree asked him if it could be performed at the Festival.
James and I called a few girls we knew that had lovely voices and were quick learners and we put together a short choral program featuring If I Were the Moon for the event. There was no intention for this group to continue on after the event but it seemed Cantiamo was meant to be!
When I arrived home from the Writer’s Festival, there was an invitation on my answering machine for us to sing at another community support event. Each time we sang somewhere we were invited to yet another event! We decided to make it “official” and become a choir!
Over the past twenty years we have added the Cantiamo Training Choir (from requests from parents to service younger sisters and brothers of the girls choir), the Cantiamo Girls Apprentice Choir (for a more pedagogically sound transition from the Training Choir to the Girls Choir), the Cantiamo Primary Choir (from requests from the community for a choir for very young boys and girls that love to sing) and last season, in spite of a pandemic, we added the Cantiamo Women’s Choir (from requests from alumni who had returned from their years away at school and were back in Ottawa wanting to sing! Once a Cantiamo girl, always a Cantiamo girl!)
As we head into the 2022 – 2023 season, we are still dealing with the challenges of a pandemic. However, we are joyfully singing together in person again and looking forward to another wonderful year of Music, Leadership and Community!
For joyful singing, lasting friendships, and a caring community, email info@cantiamo.ca and join the Cantiamo Choirs of Ottawa!
Yours in song,
J
Jackie Hawley
Founding Artistic Director: Cantiamo Choirs of Ottawa
cantiamo.ca 
The 2022 – 2023 season celebrates the 20th year of Music, Leadership and Community with the Cantiamo Choirs of Ottawa!
Twenty years ago, a small group of girls was brought together to sing If I Were the Moon for the Canadian Writer’s Festival. Canadian author Sheree Fitch, who wrote the beautiful poem, was the keynote speaker for the event. Canadian composer James Wright had set this poem to music and Sheree asked him if it could be performed at the Festival.
James and I called a few girls we knew that had lovely voices and were quick learners and we put together a short choral program featuring If I Were the Moon for the event. There was no intention for this group to continue on after the event but it seemed Cantiamo was meant to be!
When I arrived home from the Writer’s Festival, there was an invitation on my answering machine for us to sing at another community support event. Each time we sang somewhere we were invited to yet another event! We decided to make it “official” and become a choir!
Over the past twenty years we have added the Cantiamo Training Choir (from requests from parents to service younger sisters and brothers of the girls choir), the Cantiamo Girls Apprentice Choir (for a more pedagogically sound transition from the Training Choir to the Girls Choir), the Cantiamo Primary Choir (from requests from the community for a choir for very young boys and girls that love to sing) and last season, in spite of a pandemic, we added the Cantiamo Women’s Choir (from requests from alumni who had returned from their years away at school and were back in Ottawa wanting to sing! Once a Cantiamo girl, always a Cantiamo girl!)
As we head into the 2022 – 2023 season, we are still dealing with the challenges of a pandemic. However, we are joyfully singing together in person again and looking forward to another wonderful year of Music, Leadership and Community!
For joyful singing, lasting friendships, and a caring community, email info@cantiamo.ca and join the Cantiamo Choirs of Ottawa!
Yours in song,
J
Jackie Hawley
Founding Artistic Director: Cantiamo Choirs of Ottawa
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