About this Event
Eastern Horizon, Choirs For Change's professional choral ensemble, explores themes of justice, transformation, and identity in this eclectic and gorgeous program: Pathways II, Vision. Featuring composers Andrew Balfour, Tracy Wong, Stuart Beatch, Christopher Ducasse and many more gems for chamber choir, this concert will uplift spirits, challenge perspectives, and bring a fantastic array of new choral music to Nova Scotian audiences. Don't miss our three performances in Halifax, Wolfville, and Lunenberg!
Unavailable on Saturday, July 6th?
Join us on Friday, July 5th at 7:30 pm in Lunenburg; tickets available
Or join us on Sunday, July 7th at 3:00 pm in Wolfville; tickets available
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Eastern Horizon (EH) is an auditioned adult community choir led by conductors Amelia McMahon and Thomas Burton. The ensemble is characterized by pursuing top-quality choral performances that offer space for composers and music that has been historically under-represented in the choral canon. EH focuses specifically on delivering modern, contemporary choral works to performances at various locations around Nova Scotia.
In 2019, EH was the First Place winner in the National Competition for Amateur Choirs hosted by Choral Canada and CBC Music in the category of Contemporary Music. After a two-year long hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, EH’s 2021/22 season featured Unturned Pages, EH’s fourth project under the direction of Co-Conductors Amelia McMahon and Thomas Burton. Unturned Pages featured challenging new music by Canadian composers of Levantine and Persian descent, as well as established Canadian women identifying composers.
Choirs for Change Association is the parent organization for EH and is a registered non-profit. Established in 2017, the mission of Choirs for Change is to support social change movements through innovative choral events. Choirs for Change currently supports the activities of three choirs: Spira, Polaris, and Eastern Horizon. Based in Halifax, these choirs are active for most months of the year, and engage local Nova Scotians, both professional and amateur, in the act of creating and presenting choral art. Beyond this artistic practice, Choirs for Change also strives to create social sustainability through our choirs by fostering community within our membership and the people we interact with through our public performances.
Key Artists:
Amelia McMahon (Co-Conductor) (she/her/elle) grew up in the Annapolis Valley and recently returned to Nova Scotia after making her home in Montreal for 21 years. Currently, along with her position as Co-Principal Conductor of Eastern Horizon with Thomas Burton, she is the Assistant Conductor of The Halifax Camerata Singers, the Artistic Director of the South Shore Chorale and is on the vocal and choral faculties at the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts where she directs the Glee Club. Mentored throughout her career by Maestro Iwan Edwards, Amelia studied choral conducting at Université de Sherbrooke and holds a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Voice from McGill University where she studied with Ranee Lee.
Raised in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Thomas Burton (Co-Conductor) serves as Artistic Director of RESOUND Choir (Durham), Artistic Director of Orpheus Choir of Toronto (Toronto), Director of Music at Calvin Presbyterian/Deer Park United Church (Toronto), and is conductor of the Tenor/Bass Choir at the University of Toronto. An advocate for the community building power of music, Thomas has had the privilege of working with such ensembles as the Pacific Chorale, the Toronto Amadeus Choir, Pro Coro Canada, and the Vancouver Chamber Choir. In 2022, Thomas served as Apprentice Conductor of the National Youth Choir of Canada.
Thomas is a recipient of the Iwan Edwards Award in Choral Conducting, the Ken Fleet Choral Conducting Scholarship, and the Sir Ernest MacMillan Memorial Foundation Award. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Trombone Performance from McGill University and a master’s degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Michigan where he studied with Dr. Jerry Blackstone and Dr. Eugene Rogers.
Dr. Krissy Keech (Collaborative Pianist) completed her PhD in Music Education at McGill University, where she focussed her doctoral research on elements of piano pedagogy and teacher effectiveness—in particular, applied teachers’ identification and correction of students’ errors. She continues to research teacher effectiveness, effective practice methods, and best practices for error correction. Dr. Keech has a bachelor’s degree in piano performance from Acadia University, where she studied under Prof. John Hansen, and a master’s in piano performance from McGill University, under Profs. Marina Mdivani and Sara Laimon.
While her university training is in classical music, she has broad experience performing piano music in other styles: jazz, blues, folk, congregational, show tunes, Latin-American, and pop. As a collaborative pianist, Dr. Keech is especially recognized for her rehearsal and performance skills in choral settings. She has worked with the Annapolis Valley Honour Choir, Nova Scotia Youth Choir, Canadian Chamber Choir, and numerous internationally renowned choral conductors (e.g., Elise Bradley, Scott Leithead, Michael Zaugg). She has been on the accompanying staff at Acadia, collaborating with and coaching woodwind students. As a gig musician, she continues a busy schedule of playing and singing at weddings, conferences, church services, restaurants, and other special events.
In addition to teaching full-time at Acadia, Dr. Keech has also been operating a private home piano studio for over 25 years. She adjudicates at music festivals and conducts workshops on topics such as teaching students to improvise, how to practice, and the pedagogy of practice.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Lillian Piercey Concert Hall - Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts, 6199 Chebucto Road, Halifax, Canada
CAD 10.00 to CAD 25.00
