By Maisha Hasan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
A group of talented women competing at an international singing competition isn’t just the plot of Pitch Perfect — it is a reality for Myriad Ensemble, the Burlington-based upper-register voice choir, which earned admission to compete at the 2026 World Choir Games in Sweden.
From August 6 to 16, 2026, they will compete in the World Choir Games’ Champions Competition in Helsingborg, which gives seasoned groups the chance to compete with other groups from around the world. There is also an Open Competition for choirs with little to no competition experience. Myriad Ensemble has qualified to compete in the Adult Choirs of Equal Voices category, as well as Folklore and Indigenous Music with Accompaniment.
Despite the feat of performing at such an international scale, Myriad Ensemble’s roots began much closer to home, in the Hamilton Children’s Choir.
Elise Naccarato, founder and artistic director of Myriad, grew up in the choir, as did Jennifer Wells, the board chair, and Sarah Chadwick, the choir’s administrator.
Naccarato and Wells went to high school together and then on to McMaster University — Naccarato in vocal performance and Wells for life sciences.
Her experience in the Hamilton Children’s Choir stayed with Naccarato through university. Though Naccarato originally thought she would pursue business, she fell in love with conducting in her final year at McMaster.
Wells attended Naccarato’s final recital after seeing her online post calling for McMaster students who sang.
“I [hadn’t] sung since high school. Your voice changes a lot if you don’t use it in seven years, [but] I found that there was more joy at the core of it, less perfectionism at that point, which was a good fit for me coming back into it,” Wells said.
After friend and fellow composer Katerina Gimon asked Naccarato to help conduct a summer choir, it inspired the creation of Myriad.
“It became very obvious within a couple of years, [there] was a real need in this community for people to sing at a high level and do music that wasn’t your traditional Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, etc. We do sprinkle that in every once in a while, but it isn’t part of our primary philosophy as an organization,” Naccarato continued. “[We] champion works by Canadian composers and specifically, female and non-binary composers and artists.”
Six years later, the choir now has between 70 and 80 singers each season.
Chadwick came to Myriad a bit later.
She always had a love of music, joining the Hamilton Children’s Choir in grade 11. On one of the choir’s travelling tours, Naccarato coached Chadwick for her solo, which was an impactful moment for Chadwick, despite Naccarato not remembering it.
Chadwick pursued a degree in music performance, but the academic pressure that came with learning took away her initial love of music.
“It sucks the joy out of it. You sometimes forget why you love music. I came out of my degree in 2021. So the pandemic derailed the last bit of my degree, reduced performance opportunities, that kind of thing. I also felt super lost. My mom actually sent me an ad on Instagram for Myriad. I thought [I’d] try it…I auditioned, and I was very grateful to be accepted, and I sang for one season,” Chadwick said.
Chadwick was determined to help out even more, becoming administrator the next season.
The passion was clear in Myriad from the start, and they kept moving forward throughout the pandemic, when choir sessions quickly became Zoom meetings and viral videos online.
“We tried to get creative about ways that we could keep the spirit of choir alive, even if we couldn’t sing together. It really validated for me [our pillars] of artistic excellence and community. They go hand in hand, and without community, we can’t build artistic excellence, and without artistic excellence, we lose the strength in our community. It was certainly innovative and set a standard that I would say is the new bar,” Naccarato said.
When the group got the email saying they would be competing in the 2026 World Choir Games, it further solidified their guiding principles.
They got the message before performing at the inaugural Northern Super League soccer game in Toronto.
“Jen and I, [and the other performers] were sitting in this circle. I got the email on my phone and I just turned it and showed Jen in silence, because we were sitting in a group of people who couldn’t know…it was very exciting,” Chadwick said.
For Naccarato, the timing felt especially meaningful after years refining the choir’s sound. The opportunity reflected the result of all their hard work.
“It’s actually the singers. They themselves have chosen this bar. They have chosen to rise to this other level, and they’re now saying, ‘That is what we want to do all the time.’ It’s a great honour to stand before a group of individuals who are so committed to a collective goal. It goes beyond them as individuals, and it’s a total act of selflessness. They do this because they’re doing it for themselves, for the opportunity to travel — but they’re actually doing it for each other, and they show up for each other,” Naccarato said.
The singers aren’t the only ones showing up for one another; the love from the Burlington community has been outstanding. Supporters of Myriad from Burlington and beyond have helped raise funds for travel and competition expenses.
“I mean, it’s remarkable that this community cares about having their choir, their local Burlington choir, represented on the world stage, and that the people in the lives of our singers and our community, [they] want to eliminate as much of the financial barrier to singers going as we can,” Naccarato said.
This trip represents more than the fulfilment of a long-held dream or the product of years of work; it is meaningful to each person involved.
“There is an aspect of [being] in Europe: people who otherwise don’t get to see us sing live, even like family and friends who live abroad, now have an opportunity to see us. For me, personally, one of my family members who has never seen us sing live but has donated or watched virtual performances is going to come see me compete. There’s also that piece of the puzzle that’s hard to quantify, but it really feels like we’re taking our art form to people that have long supported us or who may be new supporters of us and really showing them what we are, which I think is unique,” Wells explained.
On Thursday, July 30 at 7 p.m. at Port Nelson United Church, Myriad presented a special send-off concert before their journey to Sweden, featuring the repertoire the choir will perform at the Games.
For tickets, donations and more information, visit Myriad’s website.
