A Winnipeg tradition for 100 years

The Winnipeg Philharmonic Choir, Western Canada’s longest-established adult choral group, has a well-earned reputation for excellence.

 

The Phil’s repertoire covers a broad range of music including oratorios, masses, songs, and choral symphonies with a focus on major choral works with orchestral accompaniment. The Phil has commissioned works by composers from both Manitoba and across Canada.

Major choral works, performed with either the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra or the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, include Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis and his 9th Symphony; Britten’s War Requiem; Bach’s Mass in B Minor; Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Requiem; Sir Edward Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius; Mozart’s Mass in C minor; Fauré’s Requiem; Verdi’s Stabat Mater and his Requiem; Bach’s Cantata No. 4 (Christ lag in Todesbanden) Mahler’s Symphony No 2 and Mendelssohn’s Elijah.

Each season, under the direction of Maestro Yuri Klaz, the Winnipeg Philharmonic Choir provides music lovers of all ages a subscription series of three concerts that bring to life some of the world’s finest choral works. Having marked its 100th Anniversary in 2022, The Phil continues its tradition of performing choral music that is dramatic, profoundly moving, and always entertainingly full of heart.

 
Yuri Klaz

Yuri Klaz
Artistic Director

Donna Laube

Donna Laube
Accompanist

Vijay Chalasani
Manager

  • Artistic Director

    Born in Petrozavodsk, Russia, Yuri Klaz graduated from his hometown’s Music College and Conservatory before finishing his Master’s degree in conducting at the St. Petersburg State Conservatory. In 1982, he was appointed an Associate Professor of choral and orchestral conducting at the Petrozavodsk Conservatory and, in 1987, became the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Chamber Choir of Petrozavodsk’s Karelian Art Centre. Under his guidance, the choir earned numerous awards performing in concert tours and music festivals in Russia, Germany, Finland, Estonia, Ireland and Norway.

    In 1995, by decree of President Boris Yeltzin, Mr. Klaz was awarded the prestigious title, “Honoured Artist of Russia,” investing him with a silver medal for exceptional success in the development of art in Russia. In 2000, the Winnipeg Philharmonic Choir recruited Yuri Klaz as its Artistic Director and Conductor. Quickly becoming a leader in Winnipeg’s choral community, in 2003 he was appointed Artistic Director and Conductor of The Winnipeg Singers, and now also directs the First Mennonite Church Choir. In 2005, Mr. Klaz made a critically acclaimed debut as a conductor with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra in a choral series that included Fauré’s Requiem, Verdi’s Stabat Mater and J. S. Bach’s Cantata No. 4.

    In 2006 Mr. Klaz made his first appearance with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra conducting Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor with the Winnipeg Philharmonic Choir and The Winnipeg Singers. He has also led The Winnipeg Singers in several performances at the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra’s New Music Festival.

    Mr. Klaz has directed choirs around the world, including the United States, Japan, Taiwan, Germany, Russia, Austria, France, Italy, and The Netherlands, and has attended World Choral Symposiums in Vancouver, Minneapolis, Sydney, Kyoto, and Copenhagen. In his more than 40-year-career Mr. Klaz has conducted numerous major choral works, including J.S. Bach’s Mass in B Minor and Weihnachts-Oratorium (Christmas Oratorio); Handel’s Messiah; Brahms’ Ein Deutches Requiem; Bruckner’s Requiem; Mozart’s Requiem; Mendelssohn’s Elijah; Rutter’s Magnificat; Pärt’s Berliner Messe and, most recently, Rachmaninoff’s Vespers.

    In June 2010, Yuri Klaz was honoured with the Winnipeg Arts Council’s “Making a Mark” award in recognition of his contribution to choral music performance. In July 2016 Mr. Klaz led The Winnipeg Singers’ performance at the 5th International Choral Competition in Florence, bringing home the award for Best Choir: The Golden David.

  • Accompanist

    A native of Saskatchewan, Ms. Laube received a B. Mus. from Brandon University as a student of Dr. Joan Miller and subsequently an M. Music in Piano accompaniment from McGill University under the tutelage of Dale Bartlett. Ms. Laube is also an alumna of the Franz-Schubert Institute in Austria (with a focus on German Lieder and poetry), and of Opera Nuova in Edmonton.

    She has been active for the past decade as a pianist for singers, instrumentalists, and choirs performing at international competitions as well as for CBC Radio Two. Ms. Laube is currently the Principal Pianist with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School and is performing as an orchestral pianist with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra this season.

  • South Asian-American violist and arts administrator Vijay Chalasani is a performer, scholar, teaching-artist, and advocate for diversity and equity, whose work focuses on the performance practice of music of the last five centuries. Equally at home on both modern and historical violas, Chalasani has been featured as a soloist in repertoire ranging from Telemann and Graun to Walton and Feldman. An avid advocate for contemporary music, Chalasani was the soloist in the US premiere of Vinko Globokar’s chamber-theater piece Blinde Zeit with members of the Callithumpian Consort, supervised by the composer. He has also performed with violist-composer Garth Knox, pianist-conductor Stephen Drury, and the Inverted Space Ensemble; coached with composers Vijay Iyer, Kamala Sankaram, Brian Ferneyhough, Scott Wollschleger, and Nicole Mitchell; and has commissioned new works for viola in collaboration with the Guerrilla Composers Guild and others.

    Chalasani performs frequently on period instruments with ensembles such as American Bach Soloists, Boulder Bach Festival, Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado, Pacific MusicWorks, Sinfonia Spirituosa, and Early Music Vancouver, as well as in chamber music performances of works from the classical and romantic eras on historical instruments. His research on original viola pedagogy and performance practices of the long 19th century has led to performance collaborations and conference presentations at the Universities of Oxford and Huddersfield (UK), as well as a recording of works by Tchaikovsky and Fuchs made by the Accordes! International Chamber Orchestra released in 2020. Chalasani was appointed a member of Early Music America’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) Task Force in August 2021, and currently serves as a member of the EMA Board of Directors.

    Since becoming a permanent resident of Canada in 2023, Chalasani has performed with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra and Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, and as a volunteer chorister with the Joie de Vivre and Westworth United Church choirs. He is thrilled to be joining both the Winnipeg Philharmonic Choir as its manager and the teaching faculty at the Manitoba Conservatory of Music & Arts. Born in Northern California, he is grateful to now reside on Treaty One territory in Winnipeg with his wife Ruth Denton.