Longtime Surrey resident Morna Edmundson is among six recipients of honorary degrees from the University of British Columbia this spring.
She is the artistic director of the world-renowned Elektra Women’s Choir and EnChor Choir of Vancouver.
“As a choral conductor, administrator and builder, she has set a standard of excellence within her choirs that has been widely acknowledged in both performance and competition,” says a bio posted to UBC’s website.
“Her professional reputation has propelled her into leadership positions on national and international choral governing bodies, while her generous mentorship, innovative programming and creative community engagement activities provide an inspirational legacy for the entire artistic community.”
Edmundson says she’s honoured to receive UBC’s degree, also given to JoAnn Callender, Roy Forbes, Beatrice Little Mustache, David Morley and Snxakila Clyde Tallio.
“So grateful to have this career that combines beauty, art, and community,” Edmundson posted to Facebook. “Thanks to everyone who is with me on this journey.”
Edmundson has been at the helm of Elektra since its inception in 1987, and since 2018 with EnChor, an auditioned ensemble for mature voices in SATB (soprano, alto, tenor, bass).
EnChor is planning a “Spring Has Sprung” concert April 16 at Pacific Spirit United Church in Vancouver, and Elektra will host two Tapestry International Celebration of Women’s Choirs concerts May 5-6 at the same venue.
Back in 1987, Edmundson chatted with a fellow choral director at a Vancouver Chamber Choir concert — a conversation that gave birth to Elektra Women’s Choir.
“I was with Diane Loomer,” Edmundson said in a 2016, four years after Loomer’s death, in 2012. “I had just come back from studying in Sweden for a year, and we thought, ‘No one is singing the women’s choir repertoire – I wonder what the repertoire is?’”
More history about Elektra Women’s Choir is posted to elektra.ca/about/history-of-elektra.
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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