Toronto, Canada. Gordon Mansell; Music Director and Founder of MOSAIC Canadian Vocal Ensemble announced today a recruitment campaign to expand its membership, both in terms of choir members (currently at 20 singers) and friends to the Ensemble. This campaign is in preparation for a September 2016 tour to eastern Ontario. The choir will perform a September 23 concert at Holy Cross Catholic Church in Kemptville just south of Ottawa then on September 24 with an orchestra at St. George’s Anglican Cathedral in Kingston followed by a collaboration with the cathedral choir at its regular Sunday morning service. This tour is a prélude to a 2017 tour to Spain and Portugal and while there, an occasion to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Canada’s confederation with performances and events over a 11 day concert/sightseeing schedule.

MOSAIC Canadian Vocal Ensemble was originally formed in November 2011 as the Our Lady of Sorrows Ecumenical Choir. In 2013 the choir toured Italy, performing in Florence, Assisi, Rome and twice as principal choir in St. Peter’s Basilica. By coincidence, this was also one of the final occassions that Pope Benedict XVI’s celebrated a public Mass. A third performance at the Vatican was in the chapel at the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music. In addition to many church events at Our Lady of Sorrows, the choir has also performed in several community events, including the Kingsway Out-of-the-Cold Christmas Concert, Our Lady of Sorrows Christmas, Polish Christmas and Memorial concerts, funerals and weddings. However, the journey is never a straight line and as such, the choir has developed a more ecumenical approach to its performances and in 2014 changed the name to Toronto Ecumenical Chorale. Under this brand, the choir sang at Notre Dame Cathedral in Ottawa, Holy Cross Catholic Church in Kemptville, just south of Ottawa and in ORGANIX 14, as the principal choir for the Massimo Nosetti Memorial Concert at St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Toronto. In that same year, the choir was commissioned to record the official “O Canada” for the Council of the City of Toronto. In 2016, the choir once again changed its name and is now settled on MOSAIC Canadian Vocal Ensemble with a musical focus on the performance of contemporary Canadian repertoire.