News
Introducing the 2025-26 SCC season:
In 2025/26 the Stratford Concert Choir (SCC) presents a glorious season of beloved and enduring music chosen to appeal to everyone.
Under the direction of our new Artistic Director, Alexander Cann, our season begins with “Christmas in Canada” (Nov 29, St. James Anglican). This concert features Christmas classics with an emphasis on works by Canadian composers, along with readings from Canadian archives describing Christmas across Canada from the 17th century to the present.
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Next, we present, in association with the Stratford Symphony Orchestra, Handel’s Messiah (Dec 13 and 14, Avondale United Church). We are thrilled to bring to Stratford a full rendition of the work in a manner the great master would have approved, with first-rate performances by our excellent choir, Stratford’s superb orchestra, and four wonderful soloists.
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On March 21 at Avondale United Church, SCC presents the legendary Requiem by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with orchestra. A work of astonishing genius and enduring appeal, the Requiem will be a must-hear event in Stratford this season.
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Finally, on May 23 at Avondale United Church, SCC presents “Sing Operetta”, a program of hilarious, silly, and downright enjoyable scenes and songs from the rich tradition of operetta.
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Ticket information to follow.
Come Together for “The Big Sing Thing: The Music of The Beatles”
A Signature Fundraiser for Stratford Concert Choir Promises a Fab Night Out!
—All You Need is Love… and a ticket!
The Stratford Concert Choir invites you to twist and shout your way to Avondale Church on Friday, October 24, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. for “The Big Sing Thing: The Music of The Beatles” — a feel-good, singalong concert featuring the unforgettable music of the Fab Four.
Led by the legendary Mark Payne, Music Director at the Victoria Playhouse, Petrolia, the ever-charming Pat Morrison, and a top-shelf band that would make Sgt. Pepper proud, this one-night-only event will help the community come together in peace and harmony to raise funds in support of the Stratford Concert Choir.
General admission tickets are just $40 for adults and $10 for students. Tickets for the preferred seating area are $60 — a small price to pay for a ticket to ride down penny lane.
Whether you're a Hard Day’s Night veteran or discovering Beatles magic for the first time, The Big Sing Thing promises a joyful celebration of timeless hits and community spirit.
“This is not just a concert — it’s a celebration of joy, unity, and the power of song,” says Payne. “We want people to come together, belt out their favourites, and feel the love.” And rumour has it that the evening will be hosted by a Famous Fab Four Fan-atic!
This signature fundraising event is generously supported by the Destination Development Fund, helping Stratford's cultural scene get by — with a little help from their friends!
So don't let it be — a missed opportunity! Tickets are expected to sell quickly, so grab yours now and prepare to “Help!” us support local choral music with a night you won’t forget. We are expecting to sell out early, so buy your ticket now and bring your friends!
Ticket Information:
Available online at https://www.zeffy.com/en-CA/ticketing/the-great-big-sing OR at the door (if not sold out).
Location: Avondale Church, 194 Avondale Ave, Stratford, ON
Date/Time: Friday, October 24, 2025 | 7:00 PM
Prices: $60 Preferred Seating | $40 Adults | $10
It’s “A Long and Winding Road,” but “Something” says that if I “Let It Be” and go to The Big Sing Thing, I’ll be as “Free as a Bird”.
"Do you want to know a secret?" It’s going to be a great "Day in the Life" for every Beatles fan.
The Stratford Concert Choir is a proud ambassador of community culture, bringing people together through the culture of music.

Welcoming our new Artistic Director, Alexander Cann​
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Stratford Concert Choir is delighted to welcome Alexander Cann as our Artistic Director for this coming 2025-2026 season. He brings a wealth of experience and love of music covering a wide range of styles and history. We are excited to work with him to bring you a great musical variety, some familiar, some older, some new works, and together looking forward to exploring more by Canadian composers.
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Born in Toronto, Cann attended the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto and has degrees from McMaster and McGill Universities. He is known for his extraordinary musicality and is an accomplished and multifaceted music leader as a choral conductor, pianist, and teacher.
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Cann has served as Artistic Director of Hamilton's Bach Elgar Choir since 2010. Their performances, since 2019, include three substantial works for choir and orchestra by contemporary Canadian composers: Stephen Chatman’s Magnificat, James Rolfe's Open Road, and Jean Coulthard's Quebec May.
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His achievements include two innovative film projects: 2019’s critically acclaimed original soundtrack for Fritz Lang's film, Metropolis; in 2023 and 2024, Space Journey, an original film project combining cosmic imagery with a live soundtrack of French and British choral masterworks. Cann has developed innovative and entertaining programs, such as Baroque Opera Choruses, Canadian Folksongs, and Music from World War One.
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We look forward collaborations with outside groups, a vision shared by Cann. Our first joint venture is sharing the stage with the Stratford Symphony Orchestra for Handel’s great masterpiece - Messiah. This year we have added a Sunday afternoon performance to our usual Saturday evening time, December 14th and 15th. Start your Christmas season with this wonderful celebration!
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Cann is also a founding director of the Three Choir Festival, a rotating choral festival featuring Bach Elgar with the Georgetown Bach Chorale and Oakville Masterworks Chorus. The most recent concert, in October 2024, featured the Festival Chorus in Handel’s Coronation Anthems as well as Cann as a soloist in Bach’s Concerto for Three Harpsichords in C Major. He has been the Director of Music at Melrose United Church since 2013.
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We are excited to invite you to join us in our coming season. We see exciting times ahead under Cann’s leadership. He is creating a variety of programs that you will find st enjoyable and entertaining.

Join us in song
Have you ever noticed how music can transport you to a different place, another time, or perhaps even an altered frame of mind? Listening to Gordon Lightfoot’s Sit Down Young Stranger album replays fond memories of early courtship days with my wife, Yvonne.
Any genre of music can work wonders this way. Stéphane Potvin, Director of the Stratford Concert Choir (SCC), remembers his first choir experience in college, learning a Mozart Mass, then going grocery shopping with his school mates and singing one of the fugues on the way to the store. “It was glorious”, he says.
Scientists, of course, have been busy figuring out an empirical, measurable reason for why we should enjoy music. Apparently there’s a neurological basis for all this. The human brain is hardwired for tunes. There are six neural centres that respond to sound. One of these is devoted exclusively to music.
Studies have also shown that endorphins and dopamine are released when we listen to music. Endorphins increase feelings of wellbeing and foster social closeness. Dopamine gives us highs when we do something pleasurable – chocolate, sex, drugs (legal, of course!) - you name it.
Here’s the most interesting take-away from all this research. If you listen to music, you get a high. If you perform music with others, such as in a choir, you get a greater high. If you sing in a large choir, you experience an even greater high. It’s like dopamine on steroids. So who needsdrugs? Or chocolate for that matter, although that might be going a bit too far. All you need to do is sing together. As one SCC member puts it: “I feel a sense of joy and connection that is hard to replicate”. Another says: “Sharing in the making of music with friends old and new…is good for the soul”.
Naturally this involves some practice and dedication but you are part of a supportive group under the guidance of an amazing director. There is work to do but there is also humour, banter, and immense satisfaction. You will be introduced to beautiful music you had no idea existed. When the songs come together there is a “wow” moment. “It feels like riding a wave”, as one choir member so aptly describes it.
Well, you are in luck. By sheer coincidence, the Stratford Concert Choir (SCC) needs more voices and is holding auditions in late May, early June and late August. These auditions are welcoming and non-threatening so there is nothing to fear; you don’t need to be a professional singer. So give it a try; there is little to lose and so much to gain. To find out more about the choir and to register for an audition go to: http://www.stratfordconcertchoir.org/join

