Our History
HPC was founded as a girls’ choir in 1986 by Ann Cooper Gay. During her leadership, the Choir won provincial and national recognition for its unique sound and varied repertoire, which ranged from Hildegard von Bingen to Oscar Peterson and Stephen Hatfield. The choir became co-ed in the early 90s, and continued its high profile activities in music education, performance and touring. Ms Gay took over the Canadian Children’s Opera Chorus in 2000, conducting both choirs until 2002, when HPC hired an interim Music Director.
Since July 2004, Artistic Director Zimfira Poloz has been developing the sound of HPC using her “phonopedic” method of vocal development. Under her direction, we have increased enrolment by more than 56%, and expanded from three to five choral divisions, drawing singers from 71 schools across the GTA. The activity level has increased to include international tours, feature performances in major venues, workshops, community performances and local competitions. In addition, HPC has been Children’s Choir-in-Residence since 2005 at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music.