Events
Upcoming Concerts and Performances
The Calgary Renaissance Singers & Players typically present two major concerts each year: a Christmas concert in December and a Spring concert in April or May.
Additional performances include tours throughout Alberta, paid engagements for special events, and public service performances in parks, schools, seniors’ residences, and charity fundraisers.
To learn more about what we sing, visit About Us.
To inquire about booking the Choir for your special event, visit Book the Choir.
2026 Spring Concert
Saturday, May 23rd, 2026
2:30 PM Pre-Concert Talk / 3:00 PM Performance
St. Stephen’s Anglican Church 1121 - 14 Ave SW, Calgary AB
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Join us as we celebrate the 501st anniversary of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina's birth, one of the superstars of the Renaissance composers!
We may pause to wonder if we have come to take for granted his music due to the towering influence it holds on compositional technique. Yet it is not for the technical alone that we revere him. His music spans the centuries through the devotion to what Richard Wagner called "an almost equally space-and timeless image, a totally spiritual revelation which grips us with inexpressible emotion, because it brings to our consciousness the innermost nature of religion free from any dogmatic conceptual fiction."
It bears remembering that he was a man who embraced the change of the times with the Council of Trent, worked in low paid church positions until the tragic passing of his brother, his wife and two of his three children during the black plague, nearly went into the priesthood as a result but remarried a wealthy widow. Through all of this he composed hundreds of works - an outpouring from a man clearly devoted to his faith and its expression through music.
In this concert we will dip a toe into this vast collection and hear a selection of Palestrina's sacred and secular works along with one new work influenced by the Renaissance by Damian Jordan and an organ performance by Colin Redecop.
2025 Winter Concert
Sunday, December 14th, 2025
This concert was lovingly dedicated to our late Artistic Director, Paul Grindlay,
who passed away in 2025.
This concert featured seasonal works by the German composer, Michael Praetorius - one of the greats of the Renaissance composers and a favourite with our choristers!
It is snowing lightly on Christmas Eve, 1615, in the north German town of Wolfenbüttel and the town is full of festive excitement. On your way to church in the evening, you walk through the Christmas Market in the town square, enjoying the sights, sounds and scents of the season. As you enter the church, the organist is already playing chorale preludes, and you see the brass and string players assembling and getting set-up for the service. The church is lit with candles flickering around the audience, who are excited to hear and sing the carols and Magnificat that Praetorius has written for the special day. - Paul Grindlay
This concert, led by Co-Artistic Directors Colin Redekop and Damian Jordan features timeless works by Michael Praetorius, one of the most celebrated composers of the German Renaissance, whose music continues to inspire with its elegance, devotion, and festive spirit.
Joining the ensemble will be the String Theory Music Collective along with guest brass players performing on historic instruments, such as the notoriously challenging sackbutt.
From well-known hymns to jubilant songs, each piece of this year’s holiday concert brings the warmth and wonder of Christmas through the sound of rich voices and vibrant instruments coming together in harmony.
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Parking at St. Stephen’s Anglican Church
1121 - 14 Avenue SW, Calgary AB
If you are dropping off passengers at St. Stephen's, the front doors are on 14th Avenue between 10th & 11th Street. St. Stephen's does not have its own parking lot. There is street parking all around the area which is free on Sundays, but it may be difficult to find a spot. You are welcome to park in the Connaught School parking lot. It is two blocks away at the corner of 12th Avenue (one-way eastbound) and 10th Street and is accessed from 10th Street SW. Below is a map.
