Elektra's Tapestry International Festival unites four adult treble choirs, May 8 and 9
Triennial gathering features Chicago’s La Caccina, Halifax’s Aeolian Singers, and the Bay Area’s Peninsula Women’s Chorus
Tapestry Celebration Concert. Photo by Wendy D
Elektra’s triennial Tapestry International Festival returns this May as a two-day gathering of adult treble choirs from across Canada and the United States. More than a concert weekend, Tapestry is a chance for singers to meet across distances, share repertoire and ideas, and explore what happens when distinct choral voices come together in one place. It is both an artistic exchange and a public celebration of the richness and range of the treble choral tradition.
Among this year’s guest choirs is Chicago’s professional eight-voice ensemble La Caccina, under the guidance of artistic director Carling FitzSimmons; Halifax’s Aeolian Singers, led by Frances Farrell; and the Bay Area’s Peninsula Women’s Chorus, helmed by Anne Hege. The three groups are joining Vancouver’s Elektra, overseen by artistic director Cassie Luftspring, for a festival shaped by collaboration, performance, and the pleasure of hearing different ensembles side by side.
The festival opens with Choral Threads on May 8 at 7:30 pm at Pacific Spirit United Church. This informal showcase invites each choir to present its own set, creating a varied evening of repertoire, sound, and artistic personality. For audiences, it is a rare opportunity to encounter four distinct ensembles in a single program; for the singers, it marks the beginning of a shared musical weekend.
Choral Threads. Photo by Wendy D
The festival culminates in the Tapestry Celebration Concert on May 9 at 7 pm at Christ Church Cathedral in downtown Vancouver. Once again, each ensemble takes the stage in its own right, before the festival expands into something larger: a combined choir of approximately 200 voices performing repertoire prepared especially for the occasion. The result is both intimate and expansive—a portrait of individual artistry, and of the power of many voices gathered in song.
Tapestry offers Vancouver audiences a chance to hear acclaimed treble choirs from across the continent, each with its own sound and character, and then to experience them together in a collaborative festival finale.
Admission to Choral Threads is free with RSVP, while the Tapestry Celebration Concert is ticketed—different price options are available for adults, seniors, and students.
Learn more about Tapestry International Festival through Elektra.
Post sponsored by Elektra.
Related Articles
Funky jazz quartet features vocalist-drummer Denzal Sinclaire, Hammond B3 organist Chris Gestrin, tenor saxophonist Cory Weeds, and guitarist Bill Coon
Performance features soprano Sara Schabas, mezzo-soprano Hillary Tufford, tenor Scott Rumble, and baritone Justin Welsh as soloists
In a concert presented by Early Music Vancouver, the Paris-based Baroque ensemble will perform the composer’s Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda
In his band the Future Ancestors, the multidisciplinary artist is joined by a powerhouse crew that includes singers Holly Eccleston and Khari McLelland
Gateway Theatre’s Barbara Tomasic directs Jason Robert Brown’s acclaimed song cycle at the historic Minoru Chapel
Canadian singer-songwriters’ meaningful fundraising campaign supports children’s palliative care across B.C. and the Yukon
Music on Main concert features energizing sounds by ukulele player James Hill, cellist Anne Janelle, and pianist Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa
Program pairs Jean Coulthard’s Quebec May with a work by her teacher, Ralph Vaughan Williams
The Vancouver Bach Family of Choirs presents the ode to extinct and endangered species alongside works by Canadian composers Iman Habibi, Andrew Balfour, and Sarah Quartel
The new fest is part of Chapel Sound Art Foundation’s Constellation Mentorship Program, which aims to train the next generation of diverse cultural producers
Annual Christmas concert includes all nine of the Family’s ensembles, including the youngest Piccolini singers
Violist Jacob van der Sloot and his musical relatives come together for a week of rehearsals, family dinners, and lush performances of Brahms and Dvořák’s string sextets
Performing at the Chutzpah! Festival, Lala Tamar and Ofer Ronen fuse Middle Eastern, North African, and Iberian musical forms for songs both traditional and original
Collaboration between Belle Spirale Dance and Vancouver Chamber Choir finds galvanizing expression in the choreography of Kevin O’Day and the voices directed by Kari Turunen
Barenaked Ladies co-founder performs songs from his upcoming holiday album alongside guitarist Craig Northey and cellist Kevin Fox
France-based artists perform Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s joyful Messe de minuit pour Noël
According to artistic director Erick Lichte, the choir’s long-running annual event often feels more like a ritual than a concert
Smetana’s lively comic opera centres on two young lovers determined to marry against all odds
The project’s success should allow the double bassist and composer—who kicks off Music on Main’s 2026–27 season—to turn down more gigs as a hired sideman
The 1980s-themed party includes a free-play arcade, a pop-up tattoo parlour, and live performances by Trauma Novelle, Reveal Yourself, and Devours
