Elektra announces search for new artistic director
Current leader Morna Edmundson will be departing after the 2024-25 season and 38 years with the organization

Elektra Women’s Choir.
THERE’S AN EXCITING job opportunity out there for someone who wants to continue the legacy of a leading local musical organization. Elektra has announced its search for a new artistic director, with current leader Morna Edmundson departing after the 2024-25 season.
Edmundson cofounded the celebrated 45-member treble-voiced volunteer choir in 1987 with Diane Loomer. During her time as artistic director, which began in 2009, Elektra has commissioned more than 120 works and released 17 CDs, many featuring first recordings of Canadian compositions, and launched a YouTube channel.
According to Elektra’s website, the group is seeking someone who “gets” Elektra, who understands and appreciates the legacy that Edmundson has created. The ideal candidate, who will start a transition period in April 2025 and take over fully in July, holds a master’s of music degree or equivalent experience and has comprehensive knowledge of the Canadian choir and composer landscapes, a background in leading adult treble ensembles, and a conviction for maintaining strong connections within the choral community across Canada and beyond.
The role also entails developing programming that spans historic and new repertoire and recruiting the right voices to add to the group as required. The new artistic director will also have a strong grasp of budgets and grant planning, working within a three-year strategic plan.
The part-time contractual position allows the successful candidate to hold other paid positions.

Morna Edmundson.
Edmundson’s farewell 38th season kicks off with The Light of Hope Returning (November 30 and December 1 at Vancouver’s Pacific Spirit United Church), composer Shawn Kirchner’s American folk solstice oratorio; it features original video projections by Syrian-American artist Kevork Mourad, who has collaborated with the likes of Yo-Yo Ma. (See Stir’s feature on The Light of Hope Returning here.) That’s followed by The Lost Words: A Spell Book (March 8 and 9, 2025 at Pacific Spirit United Church), which is inspired by the bestselling book of the same name by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris. It features works by 10 Canadian composers, the accompaniment of six instrumentalists, and watercolour projections; the performance also sees local actor Laara Sadiq doing spoken word for each spell. (Stir previewed the work when it premiered in Vancouver in 2022; see story here.) Bringing the season to a close is Legacy (May 25, 2025 at Surrey’s Church of the Good Shepherd and May 31, 2025 at Vancouver’s Christ Church Cathedral), a concert featuring Edmundson’s “desert island playlist” of Canadian works drawn from nearly four decades of Elektra commissions. The performance also features premieres of brand-new works by Laura Hawley, Cassie Luftspring, and Tawnie Olson.
Elektra also runs community engagement programs, which mentor the next generation of youth and adult singers, conductors, and composers.
Edmundson has acquired an honourary degree from UBC and has degrees and diplomas in vocal music from Vancouver, Bellingham, and Stockholm. She has adjudicated across North America and Asia, conducted honour choirs throughout the U.S., and codirected the American Choral Directors Association National Women’s Honour Choir.
Formerly associate AD of Coastal Sound Music Academy, Edmundson has also received a BC Community Achievement Award and a Vancouver YWCA Women of Distinction award in recognition of her work. She has served as a board member of Chorus America and in 2020 joined the board of Choral Canada as its president elect.
Gail Johnson is cofounder and associate editor of Stir. She is a Vancouver-based journalist who has earned local and national nominations and awards for her work. She is a certified Gladue Report writer via Indigenous Perspectives Society in partnership with Royal Roads University and is a member of a judging panel for top Vancouver restaurants.
Related Articles
Plenty is in store, from Portuguese fado singer Carminho to cooking star Yotam Ottolenghi, culture-fusing songstress Arooj Aftab, and beyond
Singer-songwriter journeys through heartbreak and joy in North Shore Jazz concert as part of the Vancouver International Jazz Festival
Dutch accordionist Erica Roozendaal explores themes of abuse and childhood instability in her heartfelt solo performance
Performance stars creator Rick Maddocks alongside flamenco dancer Maria Avila, soprano vocalist Dory Hayley, and talented musicians
Astrolabe Musik Theatre presents Farshid Samandari’s The Greater Sea and Gheorghi Arnaoudov’s Notes of the Phantom Woman
Fuelled by curiosity and spontaneity, the acclaimed performer looks beyond the Chopin repertoire that made his name
A guest of the Vancouver Chopin Society, the veteran musician risked it all to stand up against tyranny
Alt-rock band Meltt, D.O.A. frontman Joe Keithley, and singer-songwriter Ché Aimee Dorval are among the Burrard Stage highlights
Stellar local musicians play seminal, sassy funk in North Shore Jazz presentation as part of Vancouver International Jazz Festival
In renowned one-man show I Wish I Was a Mountain, the award-winning British poet leans on rhythm of deep musical influences
Wurlitzer organ, Azerbaijani folk music, rousing chorales, and more culminate in a Vancouver Symphony Orchestra performance at the Orpheum
Newest production to feature Sound the Alarm’s lineup of seasoned singers mines soundtracks of Disney and Hollywood classics
Three concerts at RockRidge Canyon resort in Princeton highlight chamber works prepared by the artists during a week-long intensive
In Western Gold Theatre’s spare staging of Caryl Churchill’s taut, wry work, roles rotate across performances with some astonishing results
The violinist’s Fantasy Vignettes interweaves Baroque music, costume changes, and sewing machines
All-Canadian program Legacy celebrates spring and rebirth as Cassie Luftspring prepares to take the baton
The Zawose Queens, The Milk Cartons Kids, and more to hit the Main Stage at ʔəy̓alməxʷ Jericho Beach Park
Program also features North American premiere of Danish composer Thomas Agerfeldt Olesen’s Violin Concerto with violinist Simone Lamsma
Season-closing concert features guest artist Christopher Gaze and a world premiere by composer Thuthuka Sibisi
Now based in the U.S., artist brings more than 60 years of performance experience and award wins to the stage
Beatles songs and Broadway hits are on the program featuring performers of all ages
In the latest installment of the VSO at the Annex series, the conductor and pianist hopes the eclectic program will take some of the intimidation factor out of new music
Paris-born, Montreal-raised pianist won the 2021 International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw
At Vancouver New Music, Cheldon Paterson’s uncategorizable music fuses his love for nature with his taste for obscure sound
Compelling young artist has performed worldwide and won prizes at the National Chopin Piano Competition
Genre-spanning international and local talents take to North Shore venues in BlueShore at CapU and Vancouver International Jazz Festival presentation
Program includes an Emily Carr–inspired piece by Tawnie Olson, a composition about a satellite falling out of orbit by Chris Sivak, and more
In Have You Heard Judi Singh?, Vancouver director interweaves archival footage, re-created moments, and mesmerizing music in tribute to late Punjabi-Black artist
Set in the aftermath of World War II, updated production adds depth and nuance to the iconic work
Another 30 concerts will take place at Performance Works, Ocean Artworks, and the Revue Stage from June 20 to July 1