Biography
Over its 47 year history, the Hamilton Children’s Choir has seen more than 1700 children and youth participate in the choir, performing and traveling around the world.
Mr. Donald Kendrick, the organist of Christ’s Church Cathedral, established the Hamilton Children’s Choir in 1975 and served as Conductor/Artistic Director from 1975 until 1978. From 1978 – 1985 the choir continued under John Laing, and artistic programming expanded to include collaborations with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra & Boris Brott that were broadcast on CHCH television.
David Davis continued as Artistic Director from 1985 to 2002 during which time choristers had the opportunity to sing with the HPO, Hamilton Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, Bach Elgar Choir, Canadian Male Orpheus Choir, and with Celine Dion at the 1999 Juno Awards. The choir appeared on national television, produced several recordings and went on tour to the International Choral Kathaumixuu in Powell River (BC), France, New York City, Pennsylvania and the East Coast several times.
A pivotal moment for the HCC was in 2003 when Zimfira Poloz became Artistic Director. Her passion and skill have transformed the artistic and educational approach of the choir. This is measurable both in quantity and quality: HCC has evolved into 6 progressive choral programs and adopted a more inclusive approach which increased enrollment from 80 to 200 singers. HCC is proud to be one of the most sought-after choirs invited to perform locally, nationally and internationally. It is rare for a community-based children’s choral program to achieve such a reputation without the traditional audition-only model. Under Zimfira’s direction, the choir has ventured on more than 10 international tours in the past 13 years and participated in 5 international competitions where they have earned the Grand Prize Award. Driven by Zimfira’s innovative and passionate leadership, along with her team of artistic staff, Hamilton Children’s Choir is dedicated to exploring fresh approaches to choral music that reduce barriers, strengthen the choral artform and demonstrate that “excellence has no age”.