Surrey Chamber Choir

The award-winning Surrey Children's Choir was founded in September 1992 by director, Stephen Horning and 35 choristers. The Surrey Children’s Choir is a special project of the Surrey Choral Arts Project Society, which is a non-profit, registered charity. Our singers, aged 6-70, are grouped into the Junior and Intermediate Training Choirs, the Surrey Children’s Choir, the Surrey Chamber Choir, the Surrey Youth Chorus and the Surrey Community Chorus adult choir.

The Surrey Children’s Choir is a consistent gold medal winner at local festivals, hailed by Gerald Van Wyck, Vancouver Community College, adjudicator as “one of the best children’s choirs in Canada". These exuberant young voices are heard often at civic and community events and have appeared live on CBC Radio. In April, 2009, the Surrey Children’s Choir, Surrey Chamber Choir, and Surrey Youth Chorus participated in the Vancouver Kiwanis Festival to glorious accolades from adjudicators. The ‘Chamber Choir’ won the Kiwanis festival and continued on to win the Performing Arts B.C. Provincial Festival at the end of May 2009 and the National Music Festival in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, held in August 2009. In the same summer, the choirs travelled to Llangollen, Wales, to compete in the International Choral Eisteddfod, with glowing results. The Children’s Choir and Chamber Choir both participated in many cultural events during the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, including the Surrey Torch Lighting Ceremony and concerts at LiveCity YaleTown, LiveCity Surrey and at Place de la Francophone on Granville Island.

Stephen Horning, B. Mus., Ed. Dip. graduated from the University of Victoria in 1978 majoring in composition, piano, and choral studies and subsequently has taken master classes in choral conducting with Eric Erickson, Bruce Pullen, John Tuttle, Doreen Rao, Jean Ashworth Bartle and Sir David Willcocks. Founder and director of the award winning and immensely popular Surrey Children’s Choir family of choirs since 1992, Mr. Horning taught twelve years in the Campbell River School District where he founded the Campbell River Children’s Choir and conducted the North Island Choral Society. Since moving to the lower mainland in 1989 to teach in the Surrey School District, Stephen has been appointed conductor of the Douglas College Children’s Choir has directed the Surrey District Honour Children’s Choir (1991-92, 1997-98 and 2002-03) and is in demand as a clinician and adjudicator. Stephen has represented Greater Vancouver Schools on the board of the BC Choral Federation and is a member of the President’s Advisory Council of the BCCF. Stephen was a co-recipient of the 1999 Willlan Award for Outstanding Service to the British Columbia Choral Federation. On September 11, 2008, Stephen received a Surrey Civic Treasure Award for his contribution to the enhancement of Surrey as the Cultural Capital of Canada 2008.