Identity area
Type of entity
Corporate body
Authorized form of name
Winnipeg Mennonite Children's Choir
Parallel form(s) of name
- Mennonite Children's Choir of Winnipeg
- Mennonite Children's Choir
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
Founded 1957
History
The Winnipeg Mennonite Children's Choir (WMCC) - sometimes also called the Mennonite Children's Choir of Winnipeg or simply the Mennonite Children's Choir - was founded in 1957 by Mrs. Helen Litz in response to an invitation to conduct a children's choir to perform at Winnipeg's Rainbow Stage. It consisted of around 40 children at any one time, originally aged 8-16, though in later years it expanded to include choristers as old as 18.
The choir sang a wide range of music, including classical and baroque pieces, Canadian and German folksongs, traditional hymns, and new pieces composed by contemporary musicians or by Mrs. Litz herself. The choir produced many records and were featured in radio and television broadcasts both locally and nationally through CBC. They also toured extensively through Canada and the United States, as well as further afield in Europe, Asia, South Africa, Israel/Palestine, South America, and Australia/New Zealand. Many of these tours were in response to invitations by international organizations as their reputation grew, including an invitation to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City, a collaboration with the Vienna Boys' Choir, and music festivals around the world where their performances often won awards.
WMCC was also very involved in charity work, especially relating to children's issues. They were longtime supporters of World Vision's child sponsorship program, performed at fundraisers for Winnipeg's Children's Hospital Foundation, and sponsored famine and flood relief programs through Mennonite Central Committee among other charity projects.
The choir won many awards over its fifty-year run, including the George Mathieson trophy in 1963, the Canada 125 award in 1993, and many first-, second-, and third-place awards at international music festivals. Helen Litz was awarded the Governor General's Caring Canadian Award in 2000 in regognition of her years of voluntary service to Canada's cultural landscape.
In 1983, MUSICA Inc. (Mennonite United Singing International Community Association) was formed to handle administrative tasks for the choir. WMCC continued until Mrs. Litz's retirement at the end of the 2007/08 season. At this point, former assistant director and mother of one of the choiristers Judy Neufeld Urbonas took over leadership, rebranding the choir as the Winnipeg Children's Choir in 2008, which is still in existence as of 2025.
For more information, see the entry for the choir in "The Canadian Encyclopedia" at thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/mennonite-childrens-choir-of-winnipeg-emc