Banff Choral Art Festival 2027: 40 International Singers, CA$2,000 Weekend Fee
The Banff Centre's Choral Art Festival 2027 invites 40 singers from Canada and abroad to a three-day weekend of performances, rehearsals and workshops alongside the renowned a cappella ensemble Chanticleer. Scheduled for 18–20 June 2027, the festival complements the smaller nine-day Choral Art residency but offers a separate place, price and selection process. Applicants of all singing experience levels may be considered, provided they are aged at least 18 at the start of the programme. Applications close on 9 December 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Mountain Standard Time.
Who can apply?
Individual international singers aged 18 or over at the start date.
Forty places: ten sopranos, ten altos, ten tenors and ten basses; any gender can audition for the voice type that fits.
The shorter festival accepts singers of different experience levels, unlike the nine-day residency, which targets pre-professionals.
Selected participants must arrive on 17 June and join the whole three-day programme June 18–20.
Three audition recordings and documents
The Banff Centre asks for a two-page CV, one-page cover letter and three performance samples: a foreign-language art song or aria, a nonclassical selection (examples include folk, popular music and musical theatre) and an unaccompanied segment of 'When David Heard' by Thomas Weelkes, measures 1–27, in the voice part selected by the singer. Recordings demonstrate flexibility between accompanied singing, a cappella blend, pitch accuracy and the range of the candidate's musical interests. These requirements are shared with the Choral Art residency, but the programmes have separate enrolment.
Published costs: this is not a paid performance job
Non-refundable application processing fee: CA$65 (CA$35 for qualifying Indigenous applicants).
Advertised total participation fee: CA$2,000.
The fee includes tuition, three nights of campus accommodation, meals, rehearsals and workshops.
An optional extra night's lodging on 20 June may be available at CA$102 plus tax, but requesting it does not guarantee a room.
The organiser does not promise that all international participants receive flights, visa funding or a performance salary.
Weekend schedule and faculty
Participants arrive Thursday 17 June. Friday's schedule includes group rehearsal, workshops and a Chanticleer session; Saturday includes workshops with composer Sarah Quartel and singer Andrea Haines as well as a performance; Sunday concludes with a dress rehearsal, public concert and closing reception. Conductors Michael Zaugg and Tim Shantz are involved in the event. The workshop structure offers collective singing and professional networking, not a standard ranked competition with cash prizes.
Host institution and visa considerations
Banff Centre is a longstanding Canadian multidisciplinary arts training institution in the Rocky Mountains. Chanticleer has maintained a worldwide career in vocal chamber performance and has won Grammy Awards for its recordings. Banff welcomes international applicants, but cautions that the programme does not qualify for a Canadian study visa. Applicants should check visitor-visa requirements, total travel costs and ability to attend every rehearsal. Price quotations are in Canadian dollars.
Official Banff Choral Art Festival 2027 application and CA$2,000 fees: https://www.banffcentre.ca/programs/choral-art-festival-2027
Separate nine-day Choral Art 2027 residency: https://www.banffcentre.ca/programs/choral-art-2027
Checked 24 October 2026. Apply by December 9, 2026; festival June 18–20, 2027.