Artistic Director Kari Turunen began leading the Vancouver Chamber Choir (VCC), one of Canada’s premier professional choral ensembles, in September 2019. Founded by Jon Washburn in 1971 the VCC has enjoyed amazing success -, ranking with the handful of North America’s best professional choruses and noted for its diverse repertoire and performing excellence. In addition to concerts at home in Vancouver and across Canada, international excursions have taken them to the USA, Mexico, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Finland, France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine.
VCC has performed countless concerts and broadcasts, released 36 recordings and received numerous awards including the Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence by Chorus America. Foremost supporters of Canadian music, they are responsible for commissions and premieres of nearly 400 choral works by 150 composers and arrangers, most of whom are Canadian. Over the years the choir has sung over 4,000 performances of works by Canadian composers, in addition to their extensive international repertoire. The choir’s award-winning educational programs include the Conductors’ Symposium for advanced choral conductors, Interplay interactive workshops for choral composers, Focus professional development program for student singers, OnSite visitations for school choirs, the biennial Young Composers’ Competition, and many on-tour workshops and residencies.