The Hart House Singers is a non-auditioned choir at the University of Toronto that provides an opportunity for first-time and experienced singers to share in the joy of choral singing, to learn the art of song, to have fun, and to sing culturally and historically diverse repertoire.
The Hart House Singers is a non-auditioned choir at the University of Toronto that provides an opportunity for first-time and experienced singers to share in the joy of choral singing, to learn the art of song, and to sing historically and culturally diverse repertoire. Typically, the choir performs music from around the world in its summer or fall terms, and one of the great choral works in the winter term. The Hart House Singers has performed at Toronto’s “Nuit blanche,” and in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 and Holst’s The Planets with the Hart House Orchestra. In the past few seasons, we have performed such famous choral works as Bruckner’s Mass in E minor, Dvorak’s Mass in D and Stabat Mater, Mozart’s Requiem, Haydn’s Mass in Time of War, and Beethoven's Mass in C with orchestras made of students and recent graduates from the Faculty of Music and the Royal Conservatory of Music, and local professionals.
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DAVID ARNOT-JOHNSTON has directed many vocal and instrumental groups, including at Canada's National Ballet School and Tafelmusik's Baroque Summer Institute at the University of Toronto. He completed the graduate program in early music at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, The Netherlands, and holds a Masters degree in music history and performance from the University of Toronto.
As a tenor soloist, David has performed with several early and contemporary ensembles, including Tafelmusik, the Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal, Opera Atelier, Dancemakers, Utrecht Barok Consort, La Capriola of Amsterdam, Utrecht Bach Society, Ottawa Choral Society, and The Toronto Consort. He has sung as a soloist under Sigiswald Kuijken, Andrew Parrott, William Christie, and with Emma Kirkby in works by Mozart, Handel, Bach, Lully, and Monteverdi.
David has recorded as a soloist and ensemble performer on the Naxos, CBC, Marquis, RCA/BMG, and Analekta labels with the Aradia Ensemble, Tafelmusik Orchestra, Toronto Consort, Canadian Brass, and the Theatre of Early Music. A dedicated instructor of music, David directed the music education program at the National Ballet School for ten years. He has been conductor of the Hart House Singers since 2003.
CONRAD GOLD, holds a Bachelor of Music from Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, and a Master of Music from McGill University. He undertook additional keyboard performance studies in Italy. Mr. Gold also serves as the accompanist for the Brampton Festival Singers, and has collaborated with the Tallis Choir and the Cantabile Chamber Singers of Toronto, and the Laudate Dominum Choir of Chatham. Currently living in Toronto, Mr. Gold plays organ regularly at Lorne Park Baptist Church in Mississauga, St. Michael's Cathedral in Toronto, and several other Toronto area churches. His other musical activities include playing organ recitals and teaching piano.
Fall Term: Repertoire for the "Sacred Winter II" concert at the end of the fall term will include (but is not restricted to) the pieces seen below. Additional pieces will be added to the program and these will be announced soon.
-more pieces will be announced soon
Practice files in midi and MP3 format are available for some off these songs on our Google drive here. An on-line resource to practice O. Gjeilo's The Rose. A resource for Lauridsen's O Magnum Mysterium. More information is available below including a set of links for YouTube practice videos for Gjeilo's "Luminous Night of the Soul.
Update for Hart House Singers, as of August 3rd, 2025:
Hello Hart House Singers and those who may like to join us for the
2025 Fall term!
Here are some details:
Fall Term: Repertoire for the "Sacred Winter II" concert at the end of the fall term will include (but is not restricted to) the pieces seen below. Additional pieces will be added to the program and these will be announced soon.
Winter Term: We will perform G. F. Handel's Messiah with a full professional orchestra (made of students from the Faculty of Music, Royal Conservatory of Music, and local professionals) and vocal soloists. This will be the first full performance by the Hart House Singers of this iconic work with orchestra and soloists.
Hard copies of the music will be distributed at each rehearsal. You must decide if you wish to stay for either the term or the year before the third rehearsal. After the third rehearsal (or anytime after you have registered and paid your membership fee), you may keep your copies of music to study at home. Much of the music will also be provided in an online format for those who wish to practise at home between rehearsals. Practice files in midi and MP3 format are available for some off these songs on our Google drive here (material for songs A Hymn to the Virgin, Blow Blow Thou Winter Wind, L'Ange de ciel, Mary is a Lady Bright, Nöel des enfants, Snowflakes, and The Cloud Capp'd Towers). You may change the playback speed of the music as you require. An on-line resource to practice O. Gjeilo's The Rose, it is very flexible allowing you to change speed of playback, emphasizing voice parts and so on. The same sort of resource for Lauridsen's O Magnum Mysterium.
Here are the YouTube rehearsal links to the 2nd part of Gjeilo's "Luminous Night of the Soul, from page 30, rehearsal letter "H":
Practice at home with these files (and other resources) is optional; any members find it very helpful, while others find they don't need to use it. It's your choice!
You may pay fees either at the Hart House Hub (front desk) or on-line on the Hart House website at https://harthouse.ca/clubs/singers and follow the link for Hart House Club - Singers. The first two rehearsals of the term are open and no payment of fee is required to attend. If you have problems with the recreation site contact Hart House Hub.
Anyone who wishes to join the Hart House Singers now has both an ANNUAL and a TERM payment option. The annual option represents the least overall cost. The term options allow participants to have flexibility and to manage their registration costs differently if they wish. We are in the process of determining summer fees, but they will be lower than the term fees.
The fee structure for the Hart House Singers is as follows:
| Student/Member* | Non-Member | Under 29 & Over 65 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACADEMIC YEAR REGISTRATION FEE** | $15 | $240 | $180 |
| FALL REGISTRATION FEE | $10 | $130 | $100 |
| WINTER REGISTRATION FEE | $10 | $130 | $100 |
| SPRING/SUMMER REGISTRATION FEE*** | tba | tba | tba |
*“Student” means any University of Toronto student who has paid ancillary
fees as part of their academic program; "member” refers to those who also have a
full Hart House fitness centre membership.
**Academic Year is the period from September 1 through April 30.
*** SPRING/Summer sessions are not included in the Academic Year registration fee and must be purchased separately.
