Some Facts
One Voice Chorus (OVC) is a mixed choir for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, two-spirit, and queer singers and their cisgender allies. We are an auditioned choir with a wide-ranging repertoire: from classical to jazz, from madrigals to show tunes, and more!
OVC was founded in September 2011. Four singers signed up for auditions the first night and a choir was born. From four singers we quickly grew to ten and made our debut at a Christmas concert hosted by the Unitarian Church of Calgary in December 2011.
By the spring of 2012, we had 17 singers on the roster and we were ready to contemplate presenting a concert of our own. We brought the curtain down, ending our first season on a high note. Our debut concert in June 2012 launched us officially as Calgary’s new LGBT choir. We were joined on stage by the Calgary Men’s Chorus, whom we regard proudly as our big brothers.
Many years have rolled by now since we first opened our doors to singers. We’re a fully-fledged choir of nearly 40 singers that presents two concerts each season, an additional cabaret style concert every second year and various guest appearances and collaborations.
Highlights
Stonewall
November 2019 - Ready to celebrate this important landmark in our history? Join us! Stonewall: A 50th Anniversary in Story and Song One Voice Chorus celebrates the auspicious spark that ignited the movement for gay rights and queer acceptance…with a healthy dose of dance music from the 1960s!
Transformation
January 2020 - We are thrilled to announce our next concert - Transformation! This concert is also a wonderful opportunity to learn about the long history of Calgary's Transgender Community and features Kevin Allen from the Calgary Gay History Project.
The Story Project
The Story Project will culminate in a multi-media concert of stories and song on Saturday, June 13, 2020 at 7:30 pm at St. Stephen’s Anglican Church. Some of the stories will be presented live onstage, and others of the stories will be presented as printed prose, poetry, or visual art and displayed on story boards on concert night.
Sugar
December 8, 2018 - Come and feast on sweet musical confections from One Voice Chorus! Music to lighten the heart, sweeten your evening, and make your heart (and your teeth!) sing.
Rainbow Cabaret
February 23, 2018 - OVC’s talented singers bring you a highly entertaining evening of solos, small-group numbers, and full-choir singing.
Risk: Being Real
June 8, 2018 - One Voice Chorus sings about the risk of being ourselves and takes a few artistic risks!
Bridges
November 2017 - This will be no ordinary concert. It is OVC’s aim that everyone will be changed by the words they hear, by the musical collaborations they witness, and by the simple act of joining together - Indigenous and non-Indigenous - for this night of learning, community-making, and bridge-building.
Rainbow Cabaret
February 23, 2018 - OVC’s talented singers bring you a highly entertaining evening of solos, small-group numbers, and full-choir singing.
Out Loud!
April 14, 2018 - One Voice Chorus will present Out Loud!, a concert that celebrates love, community, and strength.
Food
December 2016 - One Voice Chorus celebrates the season of feasting with a concert about food, followed by a sparkling reception by Chef at your Shoulder. Special guests: BarberEllas “Songwriters write about the things that interest them most, so it should come as no surprise that there are so many songs about food!” observes OVC’s Artistic Director, Jane Perry.
Rainbow Cabaret
January 2017 - You're invited to an evening of cabaret-style entertainment, brought to you by the members of One Voice Chorus. Let us entertain you with a pinch of Broadway, a dash of jazz, and a shot of comedy to banish the winter blues.
Brian Tate Workshop & Concert
March 19, 2017 - Vancouver's Brian Tate is the founding conductor of the Universal Gospel Choir, a jazz vocalist, and a composer with dozens of publications to his name. Brian taught our workshop participants a variety of his brand-new gospel and world-music pieces, and all by rote --- no sheet music, which means that singers were treated to a fun workout for their musical ears and a great opportunity to look up and sing!
Prairie Queer Companion
May 27, 2017 - One Voice Chorus proudly presents “Prairie Queer Companion” , a concert featuring two musicians whose work explores what it’s like to grow up queer on the Canadian prairies. The choir will perform Regina composer David L. McIntyre’s Watershed Stories I, eight songs based on the coming-out experiences of members of his Prairie Pride Chorus.
Home
May 14, 2016 - One Voice Chorus presents musical musings on the idea of home and explores the growing issue of LGBTQ youth homelessness. Get involved in our Rainbow Raffle Fundraiser, click here for details
Within the Shining of a Star
December 12, 2015 - Join One Voice Chorus at Within the Shining of a Star concert! One Voice Chorus presents a holiday concert that invites you to bask in the quiet beauty and the sparkling playfulness of stars.
Make the Yuletide Gay
December 6, 2014 - Join us for music ranging from classics like “Away in a Manger” and “Carol of the Bells” to the wacky and wonderful. Can you imagine the lyrics to “Jingle Bells” set to Tchiakovsky’s “Nutcracker Suite?” Don’t even try; you’ll have to come to the concert to believe it! Special guest, jazz vocalist Peter Cameron, will put his own spin on staples including “The Christmas Song” and “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?”
Club Carousel
March 2015 - Join One Voice Chorus on a magical history tour! Club Carousel may have long since shut its doors, but the courage and vision it took to found Calgary's first gay club still resonate today. One Voice Chorus pays tribute to a piece of our city's queer history with a cabaret-style concert of popular dance music from the era. The program features Top 40 tunes from 1968 to 1974, including hits such as "Sweet Caroline", "You are the Sunshine of My Life", and "Dance to the Music".
Rainbow Connections
June 7, 2015 - In warm support of GSAs and the courageous teenagers who are working so tirelessly to make their school communities safe and welcoming for LGBTQ students, One Voice Chorus invites you to join us for Rainbow Connections: A Pride Concert.
Words
November 2013 - We hired a guest performer, spoken word artist Sheri-D Wilson. She is a highly successful performer with an international reputation for excellence and accepted our invitation with enthusiasm and grace, even though we were a young organization still building its reputation.
Think Big
March 2014 - We took a risk and hired as our guest performer the Weekend World Music Choir. Scott Leithead was both a delight and a magician, and everyone in the room could feel the joy when both OVC and the Weekend World Music Choir took the stage to sing the final number together.
Ottawa Bound
May 2014 - This concert included the program we would sing at the Unision Festival in Ottawa and presented the Calgary Men’s Chorus and the BarberEllas as guests
Rainbow Cabaret
January 2014 - One Voice Chorus presented the Rainbow Cabaret, a sparkling evening of performances to an enthusiastic crowd, many of whom clamored for us to make this an annual event.
The First Nowell
December 2012 - Riding the wave of a Calgary Herald feature article in December, One Voice Chorus was greeted by an enormous audience at our December 9th concert “The First Nowell”. The concert solidly established One Voice Chorus’s presence in the local choral community.
One Voice, One World
March 2013 - This concert saw us share the stage with guest choir Edmonton Vocal Minority. Through a weekend of singing and eating together, OVC forged such a friendly bond with EVM that we already have received an invitation to go to Edmonton sometime in the 2014-2015 season to perform as EVM’s guests.
Rainbow Roots
May 2013 - Our third concert of the season allowed us to show our audience what a fun-loving and talented group we are. Inspired by the energy of guest band Backyard Betties (featuring our own Sarah Nielsen), One Voice Chorus showed its audience a foot-stompin’ good time
Début
June 3, 2012 - One Voice Chorus presents a sampling of many styles for it's very first full-length concert. Special Guest: Calgary Men's Chorus