Welcome to the Canadian Orpheus Male Choir
Exciting News! The Canadian Orpheus Male Choir has a new Music Director, Lorinda van Wyk DMA. She started August 1 and makes her debut at the Dundas Cactus Festival on Sunday, August 23 at 3:00 p.m. on the Festival’s Main Stage. Lorinda is a South-African Canadian choral conductor and educator based in Brampton, Ontario. She completed her Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting at Western University’s Don Wright Faculty of Music under the leadership of Dr. Mark Ramsay.
She is currently the Artistic Director for the Woodstock Choralaires, and she leads Global music workshops and directs small choirs at the Owen Sound Choir Camp. Lorinda frequently provides language and movement coaching to choirs performing South African repertoire. She is passionate about choral education for all ages and levels and has a fondness for programming recent and socially relevant repertoire.
“I am deeply honoured to serve as the 11th conductor of the Canadian Orpheus Male Choir. Together, I look forward to celebrating our rich musical heritage while embracing new opportunities to inspire audiences through song.” We look forward to being inspired by her leadership, creativity, and vision.
SING FOR WELLNESS – CHOIR FOR LIFE
Singing is good for us; it’s good for our mental and physical health. Singing in a choir improves our social health, too. Singing in a choir is fun! If you’ve ever needed a nudge to start singing and join a choir, here’s your chance.
The Canadian Orpheus Male Choir (COMC), with the support of the Hamilton Branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), is introducing a wellness initiative called SING FOR WELLNESS – CHOIR FOR LIFE. It promotes mental, social, and physical well-being through the joys of group singing. Starting in May 2026, we invite people of all backgrounds and skill levels to experience for themselves the proven health benefits of singing in a choir.
The campaign includes open rehearsals at many of Hamilton’s community choirs, introductory singing workshops, pop-up community sing-alongs, and invitations to local choir concerts.
MORE INFORMATION – HERE
CONCERT DATES – COMMUNITY CHOIRS 2026 – HERE
WHY SING IN A CHOIR? – HERE
CHORAL CANADA’S CURATED RESEARCH ON BENEFITS OF SINGING – HERE
UPCOMING EVENTS
We are known as ‘Men who love to sing’. We come from many backgrounds and have different levels of skill in music. We aim to bring high quality choral singing to our audiences and encourage self-development through music among our members.
Vision: The Canadian Orpheus Male Choir (COMC) is a respected amateur male choir that aspires to a masterful standard of choral music performance.
Mission: To give back to the community by providing a forum for men who wish to learn to sing or improve their singing ability, and who enjoy the camaraderie of working as a team towards the following shared goals:
- promoting artistic excellence in the greater Hamilton area,
- supporting the fundraising efforts of charitable organizations and service groups,
- building community and civic pride.
We sing in four-part harmony (tenor 1, tenor 2, baritone, and bass) with piano accompaniment. Our repertoire is extensive and includes popular tunes, ballads, jazz numbers, spirituals, songs from musicals, opera choruses, hymns, traditional and folk songs.
Singing wonderfully right off the bat is not a prerequisite for us. We are always improving. ‘Practice makes perfect.’ It is surprising how good your sound becomes within a few months of singing regularly.