Artistic Bios

ANN COOPER GAY
Artistic Director and Conductor

Ann Cooper Gay is an accomplished conductor, opera singer, organist, pianist, and flutist, well known in the artistic community for her extraordinary enthusiasm, energy, and consistently high level of artistic achievement.

During her tenure, which began in July 2000, Ms. Cooper Gay has formed a youth chorus; established a drama instruction program for all divisions; produced a CD entitled There and Back Again; and commissioned new operas including The Hobbit, A Dickens of a Christmas, Dragon in the Rocks and The Secret World of Og. She led the CCOC in a recording of Harry Somers’ opera A Midwinter Night’s Dream, nominated for a 2007 Juno award.

Prior to the CCOC, Ann served as conductor of the University of Toronto Women’s Chorus; Associate Conductor of the Hart House Orchestra, University of Toronto; and string/orchestra instructor for the Toronto Board of Education. In addition to starting the Children’s Choir at the Royal Conservatory of Music, she founded the award-winning High Park Choirs of Toronto and served as their Artistic Director for sixteen years. She was honoured by the Toronto YWCA as a “Woman of Distinction” who “has made a profound impact on an entire generation of young musicians in Toronto.”

In addition to her duties with the CCOC, Ms Cooper Gay provided vocal coaching for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s Adopt-A-Player Program during 2003-2004, appeared as guest conductor for the North York Concert Orchestra during the 2003-2004 season, and guest conducted the Hannaford Street Silver Band (HSSB) in the premiere of Derek Holman’s cantata, Verbum caro factum est, December 2004. Performing with the HSSB has since become an annual tradition for Ann and the CCOC.

She took the CCOC on a tour of Austria and Hungary in June and July of 2007 and then returned to Europe in August as Music Director/Conductor for the youth opera production in Limerick, Ireland at the “Summer Music on the Shannon” Festival.

Ms. Cooper Gay holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Music and Music Education, as well as a Diploma in Opera Performance. Before becoming Assistant Professor of Music at Houghton College in New York, she was a soprano soloist with the Canadian Opera Company, touring throughout North America as Despina (Così fan tutte), Mimì (La bohème) and Violetta (La traviata). Ann can be heard as Sara Riel on the Centrediscs recording of Harry Somers’ Louis Riel, recorded live at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D. C.