Alexander Cann, Artistic Director
2024–25 is the fifteenth season for the Bach Elgar’s Artistic Director, Alexander Cann. With Cann, the ensemble has placed a focus on the major works of Bach and Mozart and continues to grow its repertoire of music by Edward Elgar.
Cann has developed innovative and entertaining programs, such as Baroque Opera Choruses, Canadian Folksongs, live soundtrack to the film Metropolis, and Music from World War One. Cann attended the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto and has degrees from McMaster University (B.A.) and McGill University (M.Mus.).
He is known for his extraordinary musicality and is an accomplished and multifaceted music leader as a choral conductor, pianist, and teacher. He also serves as Director of Music with Melrose United Church in Hamilton.
Stephen Boda, Accompanist
Stephen Boda is a professional organist, pianist and composer based in Hamilton, Ontario. He holds a Master of Music degree from Yale University, a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Toronto and an Artist Diploma from McGill University. Stephen studied piano privately with Valerie Tryon and continues to perform as a soloist throughout North America. He is the accompanist of the Bach Elgar Choir and has collaborated with numerous choirs and ensembles in the Greater Toronto Area and as a performer with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
He is the winner of several competitions, including 1st prizes in the 2015 Royal Canadian College of Organists’ National Competition, the 2016 Howard Fairclough Competition and the 2014 Osborne Competition. He is also the recipient of a number of awards, including the Godfrey Hewitt Memorial Scholarship, the Robert Baker Scholarship through Yale University, the Schulich Scholarship through McGill University and the Arthur Redsell Scholarship through the University of Toronto.
Stephen is the Principal Organist at Timothy Eaton Memorial Church and has held organist positions in Toronto at Grace Church on-the-Hill and St. Paul’s Bloor Street, St. John the Evangelist in Hamilton, Ontario, and Noroton Presbyterian Church in Darien, Connecticut.