Toronto Chamber Choir Blog

February 21, 2026
Author: Lucas Harris

Meet guest conductor Hilary Donaldson

A Conversation with Lucas Harris, Artistic Director of the Toronto Chamber Choir, and our Guest Conductor, Dr. Hilary Seraph Donaldson

Lucas: You completed a PhD in Musicology at the University of Toronto, and wrote your thesis about the composer Benjamin Britten. What led you in his direction? And what’s the thesis about, in a nutshell?

Hilary: I’ve always been drawn to the ways that music helps us to tell our stories and the stories of others, and how group singing or communal singing in particular helps us form our identities and animate our communities. That’s something Britten seems to have been interested in as well; in addition to being a highly regarded composer of instrumental music, opera, and art song, he looked for opportunities to give “regular folks” a place in the music. My thesis is about how Britten drew from the image bank and musical imaginary of the church to express himself in a modern way. He incorporated audience singing into several of his operas, he took a real interest in writing for children, and he was interested in how churches could be a setting for serious art, not by accident or convenience, but by design. There’s only a dash of Britten in this concert, but I admire his approach and it resonates with how I approach art and life.

Lucas: Some years ago you were elected as President of the Hymn Society of the U.S. and Canada, quite an honour for someone as young as you were. Tell us briefly why the Hymn Society believes hymns and congregational song are so important.

Hilary: The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada is an organization for people who love hymns and congregational song, whether that’s singing it, writing it, or researching and writing about it. Their annual conference (no bias at all) is the most fun conference because everyone sings together in harmony all day.

Singing together, whatever the context, is a powerful way to affirm our common humanity and create a sense of belonging. I’m proud of the work of The Hymn Society because as an organization we’ve been really intentional about lifting up and deepening understanding of the historical repertoire, while fostering contemporary expressions and learning from as many different voices as we can.

Lucas: You’ve been doing some work recently with church music events that emphasize social justice. Tell us about one of those.

Hilary: I’m proud to be collaborating with my parents Andrew and Wendy Donaldson on Singing for Our Lives, a hymn festival exploring the imprecatory Psalms — the “mad” Psalms. It will draw on poetry, storytelling, and singing the Psalms to explore how expressing righteous anger at injustice has been a part of faith expression since the earliest pages of scripture. Late last year I was also proud to co-host an online “telethon” to raise funds for a recording of hymns from an LGBTQ+ hymnal, another initiative of The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada. I’m a choral conductor by training and a church musician by vocation, and if as many people as possible feel like they have a verse in the song, I feel I’ve done my work.

Lucas: What is one piece from the Responde mihi! program that you’re really excited about conducting, and why?

Hilary: I think we’re all enormously excited to have the chance to sing excerpts of Healey Willan’s Tenebrae Responsories at St. Mary Magdalene, where he served as music director for close to 50 years. I’m also delighted to be working with the choir on such a varied program; we are singing plainchant from the Codex calixtinus (brushing up on our reading of neumes!) and closing the concert with Eleanor Daley’s stunning In Remembrance.

Thank you, Hilary! We’re really looking forward to the concert!

Responde Mihi! will take place on Saturday, March 28, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. at the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, 477 Manning Ave.
To encourage audience attendance, our ticket prices are pay what you choose: $40/$30/$5