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The American conductor, Lisette Canton, moved to Canada in 1977. She has a Bachelor of Music degree in Performance from McGill University, a Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting and Voice from the Eastman School of Music and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting and Voice from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has studied conducting with Donald Neuen, Don V. Moses, Ann Howard Jones, Paul Vermel, Chet Alwes and Fred Stolzfus; voice with Jan Simons, Lorie Gratis and James Bailey; and piano with Esther Master and Dorothy Morton.
Lisette Canton is a choral and orchestral conductor, vocal coach and technician, guest conductor, adjudicator, workshop leader in choral conducting techniques and literature, and early music specialist. She is the Founder and Artistic Director of the internationally acclaimed Ottawa Bach Choir, founded in 2002. During the 2004-2005 season the choir will be recorded live for national broadcast by Radio-Canada, and will release two CDs recorded last summer. They will embark on their first European tour in May 2005, having been invited to perform in prestigious concert series in the Thomaskirche in Leipzig and the Stiftskirche in Stuttgart, Germany. Last season, the choir was invited to sing George Frideric Handel’s Messiah in Mexico City with the Orquesta del Nuevo Mundo, and also performed at Daniel Taylor’s Early Music Festival in Montreal in co-operation with the Montreal Chamber Music Festival.
Lisette Canton has just been newly appointed as Assistant Professor of Early Music and Choral Conducting at York University in Toronto. During the 2004-2005 season, the York University Concert Choir will perform Fauré’s Requiem, Mozart’s Vesperae Solennes de Confessore and Orff’s Carmina Burana under her direction.
Lisette Canton has also taught and conducted at Carleton University, the University of Ottawa, McGill University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She brings a wealth of experience in the areas of choral/orchestral performance, choral techniques, early music performance and aural training. With the Carleton University Choir, she conducted such major works as J.S. Bach’s Mass in B Minor (BWV 232), L.v. Beethoven’s Mass in C Major, Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem, G.F. Handel’s Dettingen Te Deum and Coronation Anthems, Mozart’s Requiem and Mass in C Minor, Ottorino Respighi’s Natività del Signore and Igor Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms. Under her directorship, the Carleton University Choir was invited to sing in the International Choral Festival at the University of Caen, France in conjunction with the 60th anniversary of D-Day in June 2004.
Lisette Canton has recorded for CBC Radio and Television and Radio-Canada, and been the guest conductor of numerous ensembles in Canada and the USA including the Cantata Singers of Ottawa, the Ottawa Choral Society, the Opera Lyra Ottawa chorus, the Euphonia Chamber Choir, members of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, the Illini Women’s Chorus and the choirs of the CAMMAC Music Centre in Quebec.
Lisette Canton was also a member of the national jury of the CBC/Radio-Canada Choral Competition for Amateur Choirs in 2004. She is a member of the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors (ACCC), the American Choral Conductors Association (ACDA), the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), the College Music Society (CMS) and the Ontario Registered Music Teachers Association (ORMTA). |
