About Us
The Halifax Camerata Singers has contributed to the musical landscape of Atlantic Canada since its founding in 1986 by Artistic Director Emeritus Jeff Joudrey. The award-winning auditioned choir is known for excellence in choral storytelling and for creating memorable live music experiences. Camerata balances the classics of choral repertoire with explorations of new works by underheard voices and championing contemporary Canadian composers.
Members of the Halifax Camerata Singers have rich personal and professional connections to music-making and appear in ensembles across the province both as singers and choral leaders. To further its commitment to artistic collaborations and community partnerships, the choir incorporates soloists, guest artists, and other choral groups into its concert programs. Since 2001 Camerata has been the core choir of the Symphony Nova Scotia Chorus, appearing with Symphony Nova Scotia for the annual Messiah performances as well as other major choral presentations.
Supporting the next generation of Canadian music-makers is a key component of Camerata’s vision. The choir has an active program of commissioning choral music from Canadian and international composers—including a Composer-in-Residence program—and is proud to encourage young singers both through mentorship and bursaries.
The Halifax Camerata Singers is a not-for-profit society managed by a volunteer board of directors. Funding comes from performances, donations, and fundraising, with supporting grants from the Canada Council for the Arts; Arts Nova Scotia; Halifax Regional Municipality; and the Lloyd Carr-Harris Foundation.
Artistic Director
Joel Tranquilla
Dr. Joel Tranquilla (he/him/his) is a conductor and music educator noted for his versatile musicianship and creative programming. Originally from Fredericton, Joel is thrilled to have returned home to assume the position of Artistic Director of the Halifax Camerata Singers and Chorus Master of Symphony Nova Scotia. Formative choral experiences include touring with the American Boychoir as a boy soprano and singing as a member of the Nova Scotia and National Youth Choirs. He holds degrees from Mount Allison University, the University of Michigan, and Michigan State University where his doctoral research was in the area of Canadian choral-orchestra works.
Joel relocated to Nova Scotia in 2023 after spending nine years as the Director of Choral Activities at Trinity Western University in Langley, BC, where he oversaw a program of six choirs and taught various courses within the School of the Arts, Media + Culture. Joel led the TWU Chamber Choir on tours to Ottawa, New York City, China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan. In addition to his work at TWU, Joel served as the Artistic Director of the Valley Festival Singers in Abbotsford and was the conductor of the award-winning Coastal Sound Youth Choir in Coquitlam. A singing member of the Canadian Chamber Choir since 2007, he was named the ensemble’s Associate Conductor in 2013. As such, he contributes to the programming and long-term artistic visioning of that organization. Prior to his time on the West Coast, Joel lived and worked in Windsor, Ontario, serving as the conductor of several local ensembles including the Windsor Symphony Orchestra Chorus. In high demand as an adjudicator and clinician across the country, Joel is a past Guest Conductor of the New Brunswick Youth Choir and the Manitoba Provincial Honour Choir, and was the Assistant Conductor of the 2012 National Youth Choir.
Major works conducted include Poulenc’s Gloria, Vaughan Williams’ Hodie, Ramirez’s Navidad nuestra (TWU’s Christmas at the Chan Centre), Mendelssohn’s St. Paul (Sea to Sky Symphony and TWU Choirs), Handel’s Alexander’s Feast, Requiems by Fauré and Duruflé (Windsor Symphony Orchestra and Chorus), Bach’s St. John Passion, and Allan Bevan’s oratorio Nou Goth Sonne Under Wode (TWU Choirs and Orchestra). In spring 2023, Joel conducted the premiere of a new oratorio by David Squires and made his Carnegie Hall debut in a program featuring Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs. Choirs prepared by Joel have appeared under the batons of Robert Franz, Kevin Mallon, John Morris Russell, Ivars Taurins, and Jon Washburn.
Joel believes in the power of choral music to build and strengthen community. His wife, Meghan is an audiologist, and they have three precocious children: Everett, Penelope, and Felix.
Pianist
Lynette Wahlstrom
Lynette Wahlstrom (she/her/hers) is Pianist for the Halifax Camerata Singers, Symphony Nova Scotia Chorus, and Director of Music at First Baptist Church Halifax. Lynette is a fervent supporter of FSPA Dalhousie University Music, having played for 14 years as Collaborative Pianist for the Voice Department.
She is very proud to contribute to her community, having performed with Opera Nova Scotia, Halifax Summer Opera Festival, Opera from Scratch, and Nova Scotia Choral Federation, and has actively served on the boards of Opera Nova Scotia, RCCO Halifax Chapter, and Early Music Society of Nova Scotia.
In demand as repetiteur, coach, and accompanist, she has worked with many conductors, including Joel Tranquilla, Jeff Joudrey, Hilary Apfelstadt, John Trotter, Heather Fraser, Fran Farrell, Caron Daley, Charles Bruffy, Julian Wachner, and played for studio classes of Betty Allison, Nicole Jordan, Cindy Townsend, Christina Haldane, Michael Donovan, Lucy Hayes-Davis, Gregory Servant, and Marcia Swanson.
Lynette’s degrees include Bachelor of Music (Brandon University), Licentiate Diploma and Master of Collaborative Piano (McGill University), and Master of Piano Performance (Université de Montréal).
Lynette developed skills and collaborative relationships in her home provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and through her decades in the Montreal music scene. Lynette has recently embraced further avenues of musical expression through summer study at The Gaelic College in Cape Breton, and Creative Music Improv summer courses through the Halifax Jazz Festival. Lynette continues to share her joy of music through her work ranging from the larger choir community to beginner piano students, embracing a life of making music together.
Associate Conductor
Amelia McMahon
Amelia McMahon (she/her/elle) grew up in the Annapolis Valley and recently returned to Nova Scotia after making her home in Montreal for 21 years. In addition to her role as Associate Conductor of the Halifax Camerata Singers, she is the Artistic Director of the South Shore Chorale, Co-Principal Conductor of Eastern Horizon, and Conductor of the LeMarchant–St. Thomas Elementary School Choir. She is also on the vocal and choral faculties at the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts. As a singer she performs regularly at St. George’s Round Church and with East Coast Carolling, has had roles in two operas produced by Vocalypse, and is excited to be a member of the new vocal jazz quartet, Canvas. Mentored throughout her career by Maestro Iwan Edwards, Amelia studied choral conducting at Université de Sherbrooke and holds a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Voice degree from McGill University.
Composer-in-Residence
India Gailey
India Gailey (she/they) is a cellist, composer, vocalist, and improviser who appears most often in the realms of classical and experimental music. Recently named by CBC as one of “30 hot Canadian classical musicians under 30,” she works as a soloist, chamber musician, and collaborator with various disciplines to create works of exploratory art. She has worked with numerous living composers, including Nicole Lizée, Amy Brandon, Philip Glass, Fjóla Evans, Andrew Noseworthy, and Michael Harrison. India’s album to you through (Redshift Records), was praised as “a truly exceptional display of unparalleled talent” (Take Effect) that “flows like poetry” (The Whole Note). Her newest solo album Problematica presents a series of specially commissioned works and was just released on People Places Records.
As a composer, India has written music for concert, film, dance, and theatre, often exploring environmentalism or magical realism in her work. In 2022 she composed music for Symphony Nova Scotia to illustrate Mi’kmaw poet Rebecca Thomas’s children’s book I’m Finding My Talk. She premiered her own cello concerto Butterfly Lightning Shakes the Earth with Symphony Nova Scotia in 2024.
India is the recipient of numerous honours, including awards from Arts Nova Scotia, the Nova Scotia Talent Trust, the Canada Council for the Arts, Upstream Music, and Acadia & McGill Universities. Her recent work has been presented by organizations such as the Canadian Music Centre, International Contemporary Ensemble (NYC), Metropolis Ensemble (NYC), and Government House (NS). India is currently based in Kjipuktuk (Halifax, Nova Scotia). She loves raspberries, large marimbas, and the smell of burning thyme.
Our Singers
Winter 2025
Soprano
Molly Anderson
Morgandy Levy
Toinette Martin
Meaghan McKay
Juliette Moncada
Mackenzie Rodgerson
Kate Spencer
Lisa Thornhill Webb
Alto
Julia Blundon
MacKenzie Costron-Li
Kelly Hart
Maiti McGrath
Amelia McMahon
Alex Meinzinger
Jessica Sharp
Tessa Short
Tenor
William Austin
Cameron Bennett
David Caldwell
Geoff Gillespie
Simon Hardman
Frederick Li
Jeremy Rutledge
Bass
Graham Bolton
Bryan Crocker
Steven DeWitt
Spencer Gough
Byron Hermann
Robert Pecknold
Board of Directors
The Halifax Camerata Singers is a not-for-profit society incorporated in the Province of Nova Scotia and managed by a volunteer Board of Directors. The Board is responsible for day-to-day activities that include concert arrangements, grant applications, fundraising, publicity, contracts, and public relations.
The society maintains close relationships with such organizations as Symphony Nova Scotia, the Nova Scotia Choral Federation, and Musique Royale, and with choirs and directors throughout the country.
Members of the 2024-25 Board of Directors are: Steven DeWitt (Chair); Manish Shinde (Treasurer); Danielle Andres (Secretary); Andrea Mathis (Fundraising Chair); Nicole Jordan, Corinne Cox, Alex Meinzinger and Kelly Hart (Members at Large); and Joel Tranquilla and Martha Healy (Ex Officio).
Administration
Martha Healy
Andrea Dewar