Show Choir Canada National Championships Return to Queen Elizabeth Theatre, April 20-21

Related: Show Choir Canada, Queen Elizabeth Theatre

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Show Choir competitors will have a new challenge to overcome this year: their rivals from the West. For the first time, choirs from Vancouver, BC will compete at the Show Choir Canada Nationals - Canada's National High School Glee Club Championships, taking place at Toronto's Queen Elizabeth Theatre on April 20 and 21, 2013. Now in its third year, the annual show choir competition will feature 12 groups from across the country vying for more than $30,000 in prizing and the prestigious title of Canada's Show Choir champion.

In 2012 just 2.6 points separated first and second place. This year, with a dozen choirs battling it out for the title National Champion, the competition will be stronger than ever.

Five new performance choirs will hit the stage to vie for this year's championship title: The Pitches, Our Lady of Lourdes CHS (Guelph, ON); Deja Vu, Ecole Secondaire Toronto Ouest (Toronto, ON); West Coast Energy, Notre Dame Regional Secondary (Vancouver, BC); Dynamo, Notre Dame Regional Secondary (Vancouver, BC); and CW Glee, Centre Wellington District High School (Fergus, ON).

"It's tremendously encouraging to see how much national interest has increased since we first launched Show Choir Canada in 2011," says Peter da Costa, Show Choir Canada co-founder and owner of da Costa Talent Management. "With over 550 students participating, and an expected 2,000 spectators in attendance, it's clear that the Show Choir phenomenon and interest in the arts still continues to flourish in Canada."

Returning high school show choirs ready to break into song and bust a move for the national competition are: CN Explosion, Cardinal Newman Catholic Secondary School (Stoney Creek, ON); G Major, St. George's School of Montreal; Treble Threat, St. Peter Catholic High School (Orleans, ON); D-Verses, Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute (North York, ON); GleeCVI, Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute (Guelph, ON); first season champions Wexford Gleeks, Wexford Collegiate School for the Arts (Scarborough, ON); and returning 2012 champions SPLASH, Etobicoke School of the Arts (Toronto, ON).

"The Nationals are a valuable character-building exercise, enabling students to develop further as artists and hone their skills," says George Randolph, Show Choir Canada co-founder and president of the Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts. "The participants have the opportunity to experience and enjoy the process, and gain an understanding that the work that goes into preparing for a performance is as important - and as fun - as the performance itself."

Jordan Clark, Season 4 winner of So You Think You Can Dance Canada, will host and perform this year. After being named "Canada's Favourite Dancer" in 2011, Jordan added screen acting to her resume, landing starring roles in the new Family Channel series The Next Step, debuting this spring, and the upcoming dance film East Side Story.

2013 also marks the return of the 2nd Annual Show Choir Canada Junior / Middle School Invitationals. On April 21, junior and middle school choirs will get a chance to perform and compete in front of three Show Choir Canada adjudicators, and receive feedback. Trophies and a total of $5,000 worth of prizing courtesy of Yamaha Music Canada will be awarded to the top three schools.

The five confirmed schools for Invitationals are: Bond Academy (Scarborough, ON); Holy Trinity Catholic High School (Kanata, ON); Ecole Secondaire Toronto Ouest (Toronto, ON); St. Peter Catholic School (Milton, ON); and St. Andrew Catholic School (Oakville, ON).

TVO has commissioned a documentary on the Show Choir Canada Nationals, which is being produced by Shaftesbury.

The 2013 judging panel will consist of five top industry experts from across North America who will assess the teams competing in the Preliminaries and Finals. The judges are: Director and Performer Judith Ranaletta; Educator and Performer Debora Utley; Dancer and Choreographer Lisa Stevens; Director and Choreographer Gino Berti and Composer and Educator Steve Lehmann. Utley, Berti, and Lehmann will also adjudicate competitors at the Invitationals.

Tickets are on sale now. Weekend passes are available, as well as tickets for individual performances (Nationals - Preliminaries, Nationals - Finals, Junior / Middle School Invitationals). Early bird pricing - 20% off the original ticket price - is available to readers of Show Choir Canada's e-newsletter until April 7, 2013.

The Show Choir Canada Nationals is an open division competition for high school glee clubs and choirs. Choirs that place 1st - 6th will be awarded trophies and prizing courtesy of Yamaha Music Canada totaling $20,000. In addition, $5,000 worth of scholarships to the Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts for exceptional individual performers will be awarded.
Show Choir Canada's mission is to play a vital role in the development and support of show choirs in Canada by creating opportunities that inspire, challenge, and encourage its youth participants.