Elektra announces search for new artistic director

Current leader Morna Edmundson will be departing after the 2024-25 season and 38 years with the organization

By Gail Johnson

Elektra Women’s Choir.

THERE’S AN EXCITING job opportunity out there for someone who wants to continue the legacy of a leading local musical organization. Elektra has announced its search for a new artistic director, with current leader Morna Edmundson departing after the 2024-25 season.

Edmundson cofounded the celebrated 45-member treble-voiced volunteer choir in 1987 with Diane Loomer. During her time as artistic director, which began in 2009, Elektra has commissioned more than 120 works and released 17 CDs, many featuring first recordings of Canadian compositions, and launched a YouTube channel.

According to Elektra’s website, the group is seeking someone who “gets” Elektra, who understands and appreciates the legacy that Edmundson has created. The ideal candidate, who will start a transition period in April 2025 and take over fully in July, holds a master’s of music degree or equivalent experience and has comprehensive knowledge of the Canadian choir and composer landscapes, a background in leading adult treble ensembles, and a conviction for maintaining strong connections within the choral community across Canada and beyond.

The role also entails developing programming that spans historic and new repertoire and recruiting the right voices to add to the group as required. The new artistic director will also have a strong grasp of budgets and grant planning, working within a three-year strategic plan.

The part-time contractual position allows the successful candidate to hold other paid positions.

Morna Edmundson.

Edmundson’s farewell 38th season kicks off with The Light of Hope Returning (November 30 and December 1 at Vancouver’s Pacific Spirit United Church), composer Shawn Kirchner’s American folk solstice oratorio; it features original video projections by Syrian-American artist Kevork Mourad, who has collaborated with the likes of Yo-Yo Ma. (See Stir’s feature on The Light of Hope Returning here.) That’s followed by The Lost Words: A Spell Book (March 8 and 9, 2025 at Pacific Spirit United Church), which is inspired by the bestselling book of the same name by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris. It features works by 10 Canadian composers, the accompaniment of six instrumentalists, and watercolour projections; the performance also sees local actor Laara Sadiq doing spoken word for each spell. (Stir previewed the work when it premiered in Vancouver in 2022; see story here.) Bringing the season to a close is Legacy (May 25, 2025 at Surrey’s Church of the Good Shepherd and May 31, 2025 at Vancouver’s Christ Church Cathedral), a concert featuring Edmundson’s “desert island playlist” of Canadian works drawn from nearly four decades of Elektra commissions. The performance also features premieres of brand-new works by Laura Hawley, Cassie Luftspring, and Tawnie Olson.

Elektra also runs community engagement programs, which mentor the next generation of youth and adult singers, conductors, and composers.

Edmundson has acquired an honourary degree from UBC and has degrees and diplomas in vocal music from Vancouver, Bellingham, and Stockholm. She has adjudicated across North America and Asia, conducted honour choirs throughout the U.S., and codirected the American Choral Directors Association National Women’s Honour Choir.

Formerly associate AD of Coastal Sound Music Academy, Edmundson has also received a BC Community Achievement Award and a Vancouver YWCA Women of Distinction award in recognition of her work. She has served as a board member of Chorus America and in 2020 joined the board of Choral Canada as its president elect. 

---

Related Articles