Vocal Renegades

During 2021, at the height of pandemic restrictions on group singing, our ad hoc group of choral professionals virtually recorded an original composition for a colleague, and it marked the beginning of the Vocal Renegades collective. The piece was written for a specific octet of vocalists that have performed in many ensembles in various permutations over the past 10 years so that they could sing together - however artificially - through the use of recording software to reduce the space of isolation. This project necessitated zoom meetings for professional conversation, which led to additional time spent in social interaction, and laid the groundwork for each singer sharing their own desire to exercise personal creative control through further high-level musical experiences including professional development.

During the Winter of 2022, a quartet of these vocal colleagues began planning an opportunity to work on our skills (that had diminished during covid through lack of opportunities) in a way that promotes shared knowledge capitalizing on the expertise of ourselves and other choral experts, and not just contracted mentors. We recognized that with our diverse set of skills and experiences, we could come together and share equitably without the hierarchical structure that we are used to in professional ensembles. In the summer of 2022, we embarked on the first of what is now to be annual retreats for self-directed professional development.

The impact of the first retreat has permeated much of our professional work and engaged our colleagues in the broader community. We held the second retreat this past summer in 2023, with exponential growth both in capacity and artistic work. The self-directed format and carefully curated non-standard venue tailored to each year’s participants allows us to focus on skill development in the areas we mutually determine are important to us, as well as periods of time to comfortably explore a variety of our favourite - and new to us - repertoire. All participants are invited to lead sessions for their peers, direct, accompany, critique, etc. showcasing not only skills but the willingness of all to learn new techniques and perspectives on how to approach the professional choral experience.

Core Values

  • High-level professional development is often prescribed, restrictive, prohibitively expensive and difficult to attend when you are a caregiver. Renegades strives to provide affordable and flexible environments for those that have families, financial constraints, and mobility challenges.

    By breaking down this barrier, we are not only able to include more colleagues, but also have the extreme pleasure of showing our families an inside perspective on what it means to be a vocalist at this level, and how we work together as professional musicians.

  • More and more of our choral colleagues do not fit into the historical choir model of gendered voice part division, and through a focus on safe spaces and culture building - and with the aid of technology - we are able to give every singer the opportunity to see and hear themselves in all roles in the choir.

    This experimentation provides creative ideas for how to break down barriers in composition and arranging in the future, allows for directors and conductors to work with a variety of voice types and explore communication styles, as well as allowing for freedom not only of voice, but also of person.

  • Self-efficacy makes exceptional leaders, and while in the role of ‘choral singers’ we are often the instrument or tool for our conductors/directors, and not often in control of the artistic vision of the presentation of our work.

    By empowering folks to share their expertise, learn new skills, and gain confidence in their own abilities in order to bring them back to the choral landscape and impact others. Many of us have experienced our best voice work and best vocal health following these experiences.

  • By creating a less-formal safe-space to experiment, we are able to improvise, collaborate in arranging and composition on the spot, and contribute to each other's ideas organically. While this is how many instrumental groups or songwriters operate, this type of communicative musical experience is very foreign to choral singers.

    In collaborative spaces we become more than the sum of our parts, we are all more willing to take risks and creatively contribute in other musical and professional situations moving forward.

Impact

Vocal Renegades is growing a network of excellence of choral leaders in our province and beyond. In just 2 years we are already starting to see the lasting impacts in our community including:

  • a fantastic ‘off-season’ preparation model that gets us vocally ready, but also mentally focused.

  • connecting with composers locally, nationally and internationally to purchase and record each others work while developing lasting working relationships and mentorships

  • building a roster of qualified professionals who hire each other for clinics, recordings, director positions, and more

  • developing self-efficacy and confidence that we are capable, expert artists able to redefine contracts and fee/wage expectations

  • expanding of individual and collective artistic practices to include more passion projects alongside contracted work

As we continue to connect as a community of music leaders that believe that in honouring the whole person, we can make better music in a healthy way, valuing the lived experience, skills, and perspectives of everyone involved. We look forward to continuing our growth, and serving our community through more opportunities as a collective in the future.