OV-CAOS Ottawa Valley Community Arts

Dark Times Choir

Funder: Ontario Trillium Foundation
Ontario Trillium Foundation Logo

Choir Leader: Emily Adam

Dates: November 2025 – February 2025

Location: 12 North Street, Killaloe

About the Project

Each week, The Dark Times Choir will dive into simple tunes for all voices, and will be singing call-and-response, rounds and multi-part folk harmonies before you know it. While we will primarily sing in English, Emily will also pull from her saddle bags of repertoire from the Balkans, the Caucasus Mountains and Northern Europe to sing for the dark times while celebrating the joys possible when many voices meet. Songs will be taught by ear, and no singing experience is necessary. Leave each gathering with a full heart and a tune in your head. Come once, come every week, bring your friends ‘cause it’s time to sing!

Dark Times Choir is led by Emily Adam. Emily fell deeply in love with harmony-singing when she was swept off her feet attending a concert at age 16. With a desire to make a big full sound and join her voice to others, she travelled to study polyphonic folk singing in Caucasus Georgia in 2003/04. She continued to hone this love of folk singing with ensembles Darbazi, Sisters Riverine, and Village and Northern Harmony, amongst others. She has led community choirs in the Ottawa Valley for the past 10 years, and currently leads the Constellation Community Choir and the Lyra Ensemble. Emily is a certified Full Voice teacher, and has studied at the Lovetri Institute for Somatic Voicework levels 1-3.

Credits

Ottawa Valley Community Arts Co-Artistic Directors: Andy Trull & Anya Gansterer; Choir Lead: Emily Adam; Choir Support: Sigrid Geddes