newchoir is a choral community founded and focused on the genres of rock and pop that strives to create high-calibre joyful musical experiences for its members and audiences, emphasizing musical growth and teamwork among its members by fostering an atmosphere of respect, discipline and positivity while being accessible to as many levels of musical ability as possible.
newchoir is Toronto's original rock choir, and has been blowing the roof off of Toronto concert halls since 2005. Utilizing professional rock musicians, exciting choral arrangements of a wide variety of pop & rock songs spanning the decades, newchoir is a massive rock group like no other in the city!
newchoir is an auditioned group of 100+ singers from all musical backgrounds and all walks of life that rehearses once a week on Monday evenings at Church of the Redeemer (162 Bloor St W). We are a non-profit, membership-based organization with a Board of Directors (see below). Membership for a full year is $595. Generally performing two major concerts a year in a variety of exciting concert venues, newchoir has appeared on such stages as Koerner Hall, The Concert Hall, The Bluma Appel Theatre, Nathan Phillips Square, and even New York's famed Carnegie Hall. You never know where we might show up next!
Music and Choir Leadership
| Scott Pietrangelo Artistic Director and Producer Scott Pietrangelo is a Toronto-based music director, performer, singer, pianist, arranger, songwriter and vocal coach. He is renowned for his positivity, enthusiastic leadership, critical ear and zest for all things musical. Nothing makes him happier than getting people singing! Scott has been Artistic Director of newchoir since 2020, having musically led the group through pandemic times and back onto the stage. He previously spent six years as director of newchoir from 2010-2016, after which he created the contemporary a cappella ensemble, SoundCrowd, which he is still leading today. He co-music directed at Eastminster United Church on the Danforth from 2014-2022, and is the newly appointed Music Director at Donway Covenant United Church in Don Mills. Theatre Music Director credits include The Rocky Horror Show (Randolph Theatre), Anne & Gilbert (RuBarb Prod., Moose Jaw), Beauty and the Beast, Fiddler on the Roof (Capitol Theatre, Port Hope) and The Secret Garden (Factory Theatre). As a performer, Scott appeared as a member of the Canadian Virtual Community in Dear Evan Hansen (Mirvish, Royal Alexandra Theatre) and has been most recently seen in Songs for a New World (Rosebud Theatre, Alberta) and three separate productions of the madcap musical farce, Murder for Two (Festival Antigonish/Neptune Theatre/Thousand Islands Playhouse). He has had the pleasure of working with such notable names as Steven Page (Barenaked Ladies), Alex Lacamoire (Tony and Grammy Award Winner, Hamilton) and Deke Sharon (Pitch Perfect), among others, and has sung backup for both Josh Groban and Sarah Brightman in concert. Scott has made three separate appearances at Carnegie Hall with three different vocal ensembles (including newchoir in 2015!), and loves making music with his wonderful partner, Alison, in their band, Cloud 9. |
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| Michael Spiroff Michael is a composer, music director, pianist, and educator. Originally from, and currently based in Toronto, Michael is a graduate of McGill University (M.Mus composition 2022) and the Mannes School of Music (B.Mus composition 2018). |
Memberships
newchoir is a member of the Community Arts Neighbourhood Network, Choirs Ontario and Choral Canada.
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION newchoir is an organization that affirms the rights and dignities of every person, and we endeavour to be an inclusive representation of the Greater Toronto Area and the communities we serve. We are committed to providing a welcoming environment for all individuals regardless of race/ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, national origin, disability, neurodiversity, language, socioeconomic or educational status. ● We strive for diversity and inclusion among our audiences, singers, artists, staff, and Board of Directors ● We celebrate music by pop and rock artists from all cultures, backgrounds and genders and seek to represent voices that have been marginalized in the past ● We believe that cultural equity is critical, and that our organization will be stronger and more creative by ensuring that all voices have an opportunity to be heard This statement is a starting point for continuing to build long-term, meaningful policies and plans and will remain a living document to allow for further growth and evolution. LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT newchoir’s creative home is on the sacred and traditional territories of the Anishinabek, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, Haudenosaunee and Huron-Wendat. We acknowledge that Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 signed with the Mississaugas of the Credit, and the Williams Treaties signed with multiple Mississaugas and Chippewa peoples. We support the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. newchoir is grateful to have the opportunity to work, sing, and create on these lands and we thank the past, present, and future caretakers of this land for their stewardship. The land where we rehearse and perform has been home to song and storytelling traditions of Indigenous people since time immemorial. We recognize that colonialism and intergenerational trauma has silenced Indigenous artists for far too long. With this in mind, we encourage you to experience and support the work of the many extraordinary Indigenous singers working in Canada today. |