Shirley Madden, Music Director
Shirley is very pleased to be continuing in her role as Music Director for the Village Voices! A trained soloist, holding degrees in both performance and teaching, she currently sings with the Amadeus Choir.
Shirley was the recipient of the Long and McQuade Director’s Award, the York Region District School Board Outstanding Service Award and a THEA (Theatre Ontario Award) for Music Direction. She has also run clinics and workshops for choral conductors, including several for the OMEA (Ontario Music Educators’ Association) and was honoured to have been one of five conductors chosen nationally for the Amadeus Choral Conducting Symposium. At this event, she worked with internationally esteemed conductors Lydia Adams and Linda Beaupré and then conducted the combined voices of the Amadeus Choir and the Eglinton-St George’s Choir in a final concert.
Shirley has conducted numerous choirs in the past, performing everything from Classical Choral Repertoire to Music Theatre and Vocal Jazz. All of her choirs have won numerous awards at the local, provincial and national level, but her first love is working with community choirs. She enjoys the challenge of working with choirs of mixed experience but still believes very strongly in always selecting “excellent music and performing it with musical excellence”, so that both the singer and the audience are enlightened and uplifted! Shirley insists that from the first rehearsal to the final performance, singing in a choir should always be an engaging, challenging and joyful experience for everyone!
Adolfo De Santis, Accompanist
Adolfo De Santis studied in Italy where he achieved his Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance graduating “with distinction”, and he also holds a Masters Degree in Composition and Orchestral Conducting. He earned the top prize in the Stresa International Chamber Music Competition as well as several other music competition prizes in Italy. Adolfo has served as the Music Director for organizations like Opera Buffa and Centuries Opera and more recently as the Opera Director and Coach of the Toronto City Opera. As well as the Village Voices, he currently accompanies the Toronto Beaches Children and Youth Choir (TBCYC) and has made several professional recordings as the accompanist of various choirs and musical organizations in both Italy and Toronto.
Our section leads
Cathy Robinson, Soprano I
Holly Chaplin, Soprano II
Holly Chaplin is a Lyric Coloratura Soprano from Toronto, Canada. Holly studied with Stephanie Bogle at York University, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Classical Voice Performance with honors in 2014. Now part of Frederique Vezina’s studio, Holly has been featured in productions with Opera York, Toronto Operetta Theatre, and many others. She won the Stuart Hamilton Memorial Foundation Award for Emerging Artists in 2019 and an encouragement award from the Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont competition in 2022. Holly’s recent roles include Marchesa di Poggio in Il Finto Stanislao, Gilda in Rigoletto, and Violetta in La Traviata. This season Holly will debut two roles; Gretel in Hansel and Gretel with Grand River Opera, and Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor with Southern Ontario Lyric Opera. Holly is very excited to join Village Voices in her new hometown of Markham.
Laura Hope, Alto I
Laura Hope has enjoyed singing in many groups over the years. Her musical pursuits have led her to perform in many wonderful venues across Canada, as well as Dublin (Ireland), Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen (Scotland) and even at Carnegie Hall (New York). Presently, she sings in both Village Voices Choir as well as the Amadeus Choir. As music director at St. Cyprian’s Anglican Church, she directs the choir, plays piano and organ. She also assists the church school children with their musical pursuits.
During “pandemic times”, Laura has had to do too much playing and singing into her phone, as well learning the intricacies of sharing recordings for church and choirs.
Claudia Lemcke, Alto II
Chris Norman, Tenor I
Mark Schaub, Tenor II
Mark Schaub has enjoyed a lifetime of singing and music. Music was central to his early life in the Kingston area at home, school, and church where he learned to play the violin, French horn, guitar, and to sing. He holds a BSc from the University of Waterloo and a Bachelors in Performance Voice from U of T. He sang professionally for a number of years with the Elora Singers, and sang solos with a number of orchestras. Recently, Mark picked up the electric bass and has fun playing, and lead singing in the cover band “The Wave”. Mark shares his love of music with children in his role as an elementary music teacher with the YRDSB. His hobbies include long distance running, and canoe tripping with his family and two dogs. He is thrilled to be part of Village Voices which provides excellent social, spiritual, and musical stimulation.
Michael Thomas, Bass I
