ChandraTala, under the direction of Laura Hawley and with pianist Stephanie Urquhart, was founded in September 2019 and is the newest ensemble of the Kokopelli Choirs (Scott Leithead, Artistic Director). An upper voices choir for experienced soprano and alto singers of any gender identity, the choir’s name is Sanskrit and translates as “rhythm of the moon.”
Although the choir was only together in person for 7 months before the arrival of the global pandemic in 2020, it was a rich time for ChandraTala performing with the Canadian Chamber Choir, collaborating with local Edmonton musicians, premiering two new Canadian works, and performing with singer-songwriter Maddie Storvold and Bella Voce in the SkirtsAfire festival.
During the period from March 2020 to June 2021, ChandraTala participated in the Sonic Timelapse project, commissioned two new works by Canadian female composers, and pursued a flexible but rich season of workshops with composers and clinicians, small group and virtual choir projects, including a cross-Canada virtual choir collaboration with six of Canada’s top upper-voices/women’s ensembles.
Laura Hawley is a Canadian musician known for her compelling approach to musical leadership and artistic programming, multi-faceted community engagement, and distinctive compositional style. She is the founding conductor of a women's choir, Hypatia's Voice, in Ottawa.
