ANNUAL REPORT2015 /16

2015–16 Highlights 5

Performances 7

Education and Outreach 9

Connecting with the Community 11

Financial Highlights 12

The Mendelssohn Circle 14

Season Supporters 17

TMC Board & Staff 18

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Pho

to:

Bri

an S

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ers

As Canada’s oldest

performing arts organization,

the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir

champions the choral music

experience through live

performances, education, and

outreach programs, building

and enriching communities

through a profound emotional

experience of the choral

masterworks of the world.

TORONTO MENDELSSOHN CHOIR ANNUAL REPORT 32 TORONTO MENDELSSOHN CHOIR ANNUAL REPORT

“My wish, ... that we all recognize the supreme and wondrous gift that evenings like this one afford us.”NOAH GOODBAUM, IN A NEW EARS CONCERT REV IEW

2015–16 Highlights

Through live performances, concert webcasts, workshops and our vibrant online presence, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir attracted 140,000 fan interactions over the 2015–16 season. In addition, our participation in Chorus America’s two-year Intrinsic Impact Project contributed a wealth of information about our patrons; information which is already informing our decisions around programming and audience engagement.

The TMC’s community of supporters believes very strongly in our mission to be Canada’s choral champion. Gifts from individual donors increased by close to 20% over 2015 (itself up 10% from 2014) and our webcast initiatives and Associate Conductor position were fully funded by generous contributors. Careful management of expenses, combined with a good return on investments resulted in a breakeven year for the TMC organization.

Thanks so much to YOU—the members of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir community. Whether patron or donor, chorister or alumni, board or staff, you share our passion to enrich the lives of Canadians through great choral music.

The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir continued to champion the choral music experience in 2015–16 through 20 live performances, 4 performance webcasts, and an ever growing list of education and outreach opportunities.

There was something for everyone in TMC programs this year; familiar masterpieces like Haydn’s Creation, Handel’s Messiah and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, a concert of chamber music for choir and piano, a Festival of Carols performance that raised the roof, and two presentations of the meditative Sacred Music for a Sacred Space.

Our education and outreach programs continue to inspire the next generation of choral singers and conductors through the TMC Apprentice and Emerging Conductor programs, and thanks to a generous gift from a newly retired chorister, the new TMC Choral Composition Competition attracted 28 new compositions from emerging composers.

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Performances

“The choir was wonderful!. They lifted me straight into Paradise.” GERMAN ROMANTICS CONCERT PATRON

German RomanticsNOVEMBER 25, 2015Quebec pianist André Laplante joined the TMC in a program of choral lieder and solo piano music in Koerner Hall. Focusing on chamber-sized works by Brahms, Liszt, Mendelssohn and Schubert, the concert was a beautifully nuanced partnership which filled the audience with delight.

Festival of CarolsDECEMBER 9, 2015The TMC celebrated Festival of Carols with the acclaimed 30-piece Canadian Staff Band and organist David Briggs at Yorkminster Park Baptist Church. Over 800 in the audience joined the musicians for a rousing welcome to the holiday season in the traditional Christmas carols and blockbuster encore of Handel’s Halleluiah Chorus.

Handel’s Messiah with the TSODECEMBER 15–20, 2015The annual TSO/TMC Messiah performances were created and conducted this year by Sir Andrew Davis, and recorded live for Chandos Records. This will mark the Choir’s first appearance on CD since 2006.

Choral Conductors’ SymposiumJANUARY 30, 2016This free concert concluded the TMC’s sixth annual Choral Conductors’ Symposium and brought together a potpourri of classical and contemporary choral music, two great choirs and five emerging conductors from Canada and the US. We also premiered the first of the winning compositions of the new TMC Choral Composition Competition.

Sacred Music for a Sacred SpaceMARCH 23 & 25, 2016For the first time, Sacred Music for a Sacred Space was presented on two nights, and attracted a good audience for both performances. Canadian composer Tim Corlis’ work, God so loved the world, was paired with a new commission from Waterloo-based composer Leonard Enns for choir and saxophone, and selections by the popular British composer Patrick Hawes.

Haydn’s CreationAPRIL 27, 2016The TMC ended the season with the popular oratorio Creation in the stellar acoustics of Koerner Hall. Noel Edison’s flair for the dramatic showcased the full TMC, Festival Orchestra and a roster of great Canadian soloists in this musical recounting of the Creation story.

Guest PerformancesThe TMC appeared in eleven additional performances over the 2015–16 season, with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Mississauga Symphony, and as guests of the Elora Festival Singers in Guelph, Ontario.

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“As a passionate advocate for choral music, I feel fortunate to be able to learn so much through this program and to share my knowledge with the rest of our choral community in Toronto”JENNIFER MIN-YOUNG LEE TMC ASSOCIATE CONDUCTOR

Beatch’s composition, Psalm 100, was featured at the Choral Conductors’ Symposium concert on January 30, 2016, conducted by Associate Conductor Jennifer Min-Young Lee.

Emerging Conductor ProgramTraining and encouraging young, emerging conductors is central to the TMC’s education mandate. Through the Emerging Conductor Program, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir provides mentoring and coaching for conductors at differing stages in their careers.

The 6th annual TMC Choral Conductors’ Symposium was held from January 26–30, 2016 in Toronto. Five emerging conductors (three from Canada and two from the US) were selected to participate in this week-long series of workshops and master classes with TMC Artistic Director, Noel Edison.

Jennifer Min-Young Lee was appointed TMC Associate Conductor for a two-year term in September 2015. Under the mentorship of Noel Edison, Jennifer prepared the Choir in rehearsal for all TMC subscription performances and guest appearances, and conducted from the podium at three of four concerts in 2015–16.

Singsation SaturdayThe TMC’s Singsation Saturday workshop program invites singers of all ages and abilities to join with noted local conductors and members of the TMC community to sing a variety of great choral works in a low-pressure, fun environment. In 2015–16, an average of 100 singers each workshop raised their voices in masterworks by Handel, Haydn and Mendelssohn, Canadian composers Eleanor Daley, Healey Willan and Stephanie Martin, and were treated to a mini performance by the Cawthra Park Chamber Choir. A special Singsation Saturday fundraiser in June 2016, conducted by Noel Edison, raised over $3,200 for this valuable outreach program.

Pop-Up ConcertsIn response to a successful series of Pop-Up Concerts in 2015, the TMC presented two uplifting programs in April and May 2016 in Ryerson University’s new Student Learning Centre and in the Allen Lambert Galleria in Brookfield Place. At Ryerson, TMC choristers introduced themselves and answered questions posed to them by the University’s Oakham House Choir in an informal post-concert Q&A.

NEW Choral Composition Competition Thanks to a generous gift from a TMC Alumna the TMC launched a new Choral Composition Competition for emerging Canadian composers in the fall of 2015. Twenty-eight submissions from composers across the country were assessed by a panel of four conductors, and Stuart Beatch of Regina, Saskatchewan was awarded first prize—the Debbie Fleming Prize for Choral Composition.

THE TMC ASSOCIATE CONDUCTOR POSITION WAS GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED THROUGHOUT THE SEASON BY

Education & Outreach

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Connecting with the CommunityAlumni AffairsDuring the season, TMC’s vibrant community of former choristers attended special events, concerts and Singsation Saturdays, performed as part of the Alumni Singer program, volunteered in the office and at concerts, and donated to the Choir. Highlights of this year’s program included the Alumni Open Rehearsal for the German Romantics concert at Koerner Hall, participation by Alumni Singers in the Sea Symphony and Messiah performances, and the introduction of the new ongoing Alumni + Apprentice Sponsorship program.

TMC Connects with the Choral Community OnlineNothing can beat the visceral experience of a live choral concert but online initiatives can add to these experiences or bring a choral concert to those who don’t have the opportunity to attend a live performance. As part of our education initiatives in 2015–16, we complemented TMC live concerts by providing background information online; including program notes, bios, artist reflections, and videos or sound clips of unfamiliar repertoire. We also connected our followers on social media with other happenings in the choral world. As part of our

“What a treat! Thank you for sharing. I am watching in the far NW of British Columbia where we don’t have these types of performances. They permit me to connect to the bigger world and especially Choral music. I appreciate the kind folk who sponsor these performances so that the world outside of Toronto can watch.” FEST IVAL OF CAROLS 2015 WEBCAST PATRON

outreach, we webcast four concerts live on Livestream and archived them for future viewing: German Romantics, Festival of Carols, the Choral Conductors’ Symposium Concert, and Haydn’s Creation—reaching thousands of choral music lovers across Canada and internationally.

Chorus America Impact Study The 2015–16 season was the final year of the two-year Chorus America Intrinsic Impact Research Project in which the TMC participated – along with 22 other choirs from across North America. The final report was issued by Chorus America in June 2016. Two of the key findings identified motivations for concert attendance. While repertoire is an extremely important motivator for many in the audience, the research also highlighted that “personal relationships fuel the audience for choral concerts,” and “social motivations drive first-time attendance, most commonly ‘because someone invited you’ and ‘to spend quality time with family members’.” Another finding, and one which we saw in our individual results, was that “Audiences most frequently leave concerts with questions about program choices and overall design, indicating that they seek ‘curatorial insight’.”

The TMC has begun to respond to the survey results with changes in how we make choices in concert repertoire, and in how we engage concert patrons, before, during and after performances.

TMC Board Looks to the FutureThroughout the 2015–16 season, members of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir Board and Staff held a series of strategic planning workshops and retreats, to articulate the organization’s vision and goals for the next three years. Our Mission and Vision Statements were refreshed and five strategic priorities identified, each with its own workplans, responsibility allocation and timelines. The finalized 2016–19 Strategic Plan will be presented for approval in November and released to the public at the AGM in January 2017.

The Board also said thank you in April to retiring Chair Michael Fricker, and warmly welcomed Maureen Palmer as the new Chair of the Board.

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2016 2015

R E V E N U E

Concert-related revenue $217,101 $249,915

Private sector funding $287,260 $272,717

Government grants $150,693 $152,940

Fundraising $4,245 $37,428

Investment income $18,739 $19,189

Unrealized (losses) gains, net of realized gains $33,768 $(36,127)

Other $13,050 $ 7,869

724,856 703,931

E X P E N S E S

Artistic and concert-related $218,655 $206,591

Advertising and promotion $71,598 $93,560

Development and fundraising $2,617 $12,017

Personnel and benefits $ 339,182 $345,393

Administration $ 89,226 $80,081

Amortization $ 818 $4,400

$722,096 $742,042

Excess of revenue over expenses $2,760 $(38,111)

Net assets, end of year $681,939 $679,179

Financial Highlights

How TMC funds are allocatedTicket sales and guest performance fees for 2015–16 were down from the previous year. Gifts from individual donors increased by close to 20% over 2015 (itself up 10% from 2014) and our webcast initiatives and Associate Conductor position were fully funded by generous contributors. Careful management of expenses, combined with a good return on investments resulted in a breakeven year for the TMC organization.

Statement of Operations and Change s in Net Assets for years ended August 31, 2016 (unaudited) and August 31, 2015

49% TMC Programs (performances, education, community outreach)

30% Salaries & Benefits

10% Marketing & Promotion

11% Administrative Expenses

10%

11%

49%

30%

TORONTO MENDELSSOHN CHOIR ANNUAL REPORT 1312 TORONTO MENDELSSOHN CHOIR ANNUAL REPORT

Images - a selection of your choice, but include

• Noel’s barbequev

The Mendelssohn Circle

VISIONARY MEMBER

($5,000 or more)

Irene Bailey

Lloyd & Dorothy Chiotti

Robert & Andrea Chisholm

Tom & Nancy Laurie

Catriona McDonald

Sue Newman

Frances Price

Anonymous (1)

GOLD MEMBER

($3,500 – $4,999)

Deane & Mary Nesbitt

SILVER MEMBER

($2,500 – $3,499)

Lenora Butler

Lois Fricker

John B. Lawson, C.M.

Taketo & Vija Murata

Kathy & Tim Taylor

BRONZE MEMBER

($1,650 – $2,499)

 

Noel Edison, O.Ont.

Chris & Jean Houston

Marilyn Isaac Stewart

Susan & Liman Jegins

June McLean

Peter M. Partridge

Marg Rappolt

Harley Smyth & Carolyn McIntire Smyth

Lorraine & Jim Spragg

Rev. Cynthia R. & Ross R. Stretton

TD Securities Inc.

MEMBER

($1,000 – $1,649)

 

Philip Arthur

Thomas H. Beechy

Shirley Cunningham

Peter DeRoche

Michael & Karen Fricker

Douglas G. Gardner

Jack Goad & Laura Wood

Alejandro Guerrero

Cynthia Hawkins

Adam & Jill Hermant

Robert Hulse

Annie Odom

Warren & Barbara Paddon

Maureen Palmer

Wayne Riddell, C.M.

Joan Farr & Len Speed

Lina & Derek Stinnes

Bill Wilson

Anonymous (1)

LEGACY CIRCLE

Irene Bailey

Charles & Lenora Butler

Lloyd Chiotti

Elizabeth & Tony Churchill

Rick Durst

Debbie Fleming

Anita & Ivars Gaide

William Galloway

Douglas G. Gardner

John Grebby

Kimber Jonah

Clement Kam

Sue Newman

Philip Penney

Dale Rooney & Mai Hui

Amy Rossiter

Janice Schuyler-Ketchen

Sue Sherman & Don McCuaig

Ross Robert Stretton

Laura Wood

Anonymous (9)

Every arts organization has a circle of friends that go above and beyond ticket sales in their passionate support. We are proud to name these members of the TMC community The Mendelssohn Circle, and we salute them for their enthusiastic commitment to our mission to be the Champion of Choral Music in Canada.

TORONTO MENDELSSOHN CHOIR ANNUAL REPORT 1514 TORONTO MENDELSSOHN CHOIR ANNUAL REPORT

MAJOR CORPORATE SUPPORTV

MESSIAH WITH THE TSO

EMERGING CONDUCTOR PROGRAM

an Ontario government agencyun organisme du gouvernement de l’Ontario

We gratefully acknoledge the support of our government partners

BROADCAST MEDIA PARTNER

2015–16 Season Supporters

PRIVATE FOUNDATIONS

CIBC Children’s Foundation

Edwards Charitable Foundation

J.P. Bickell Foundation

Lamb Foundation

McLean Foundation

Metcalf Foundation

Tippet Foundation

CORPORATE MATCHING GIFTS & VOLUNTEER GRANTS

Manulife Financial

Anonymous (1)

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Midtown Gastro Hub Restaurant

Vale

TORONTO MENDELSSOHN CHOIR ANNUAL REPORT 1716 TORONTO MENDELSSOHN CHOIR ANNUAL REPORT

720 Bathurst St., Suite 404, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2R4 416-598-0422 www.tmchoir.org

Board & StaffArtistic Staff

Noel EdisonArtistic Director & Conductor

Jennifer Min-Young LeeAssociate Conductor

James BournePianist

Administration

Cynthia HawkinsExecutive Director

Anne LongmoreDirector of Marketing &

Community Engagement

Kimber JonahAdministrator & Box Office Manager

Laura WoodAlumni Program Manager (volunteer)

Lorraine SpraggLibrarian & Registrar

Karen PierceBookkeeper

Samantha LittleProduction Manager

James SpraggOrchestra Manager

Board of Directors

Maureen PalmerChair

Rouge Valley Health System

Catriona McDonaldVice-Chair

SAP Canada

Alejandro Guerrero*Secretary-Treasurer

GT Nexus

Lloyd ChiottiKallo Inc.

David Powell*Good Governance Advisory Services

Marg Rappolt*Ministry of Community and Social Services (retired)

Lina StinnesBank of Montreal

Timothy TaylorOntario Power Authority (retired)

Halyna Troian*BB&C Management Services Inc.

Erin FinlayRecording Secretary

*TMC Choristers

Photo Credits

Emay Cowx

Cynthia Hawkins

Andrew Kerr

Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario

St. Paul’s Basilica

Craig Saunders

Brian Summers

Toronto Symphony Orchestra

Jennie Worden

(as of September 2016)

18 TORONTO MENDELSSOHN CHOIR ANNUAL REPORT