“Providing a supportive network for women in the Canadian Military Community through music. ”
Welcome
The Canadian Military Wives Choirs began in the fall of 2013 with the first choir setting up in Ottawa. Since then, choirs have set up across the country and more are in the process of getting started (links available from the "Our Choirs" page). Following in the footsteps of the UK Military Wives Choir phenomenon, the Canadian MWCs are three-part women's choirs and all members are closely associated with the military, either by marriage or by occupation. We come together weekly to sing, make new friends, and have fun. No musical experience is necessary. The choirs are all about support — both vocal and personal. In that kind of environment, it's amazing how much we can accomplish and how good we can sound!
Here we grow again! This photo was taken at the first meeting of a new choir that is starting on the Uplands Base in Ottawa. For more information, email canadianmwc.uplands@gmail.com.
Our Choirs:
CMWC Comox
CMWC Edmonton
CMWC Esquimalt
CMWC Gagetown
CMWC Greenwood
CMWC Halifax
CMWC Kingston
CMWC North Bay
CMWC Ottawa
CMWC Petawawa
CMWC Shilo
CMWC Trenton
CMWC Uplands
CMWC Valcartier
Click on image to access a video of our performance with Laura Wright at the 2017 Invictus Games. Photo Credit: Gisele LeBlanc-Turner
The Canadian Military Wives Choirs were honoured to perform at the Opening Ceremonies of the Invictus Games for Wounded Warriors on September 23, 2017 with British soprano Laura Wright. Almost 190 CMWC members from across Canada gathered for the first time for several days of rehearsals and meetings, culminating in a massed choir performance of ‘Invincible’ (written by Ms. Wright) as the Invictus Flag was raised. It was a privilege to sing for our wounded service members as they prepared for seven days of international adaptive sport. The event was televised across the globe from the Air Canada Centre and viewed by over a million viewers.
A gathering of this magnitude does not happen without a significant amount of hard work, determination and support. The Canadian Military Wives Choirs Association would like to thank those who donated time, travel, accommodation, food and monetary donations, making our dream of singing together on one stage a reality. Every single dollar donated was used to help our members participate without worry or financial hardship. We would especially like to thank the following sponsors:
- The Invictus Games Toronto and CEO Michael Burns for the opportunity to participate in this fantastic event.
- PRP Incorporated for including us in their opening ceremonies, for the gift of accommodation, food and bus transportation, and for their patience as we gathered 190 women together for our first international performance.
- VIA Rail Canada for their gift of transportation assistance for many of our choirs in Ontario and Quebec.
- Support our Troops for the gift of transportation assistance for our Comox choir, which travelled 4500 km to take part.
- Defence Construction Canada for their monetary donation, enabling the CMWC Association to reduce participation fees for all of our members.
And to the thousands of individuals who bought raffle tickets and bake sale items, participated in bottle drives and paint nights, and gave donations large and small…we are ever so grateful for your assistance. Thank you.