Columbia's Vocal Ensemble
Tony Funk (Choir Director) Bio
Columbia Singers
The Columbia Singers is a worship arts ensemble that gets together to learn music and perform in chapels, graduation and small events. They love to explore a cappella harmony!
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Tony Funk (Choir Director)
tony.funk@columbiabc.edu
www.tonyfunk.ca
As well as teaching music and theology at Columbia Bible College, Tony Funk is active as a choral director in British Columbia. Past opportunities have included working with the award winning Vancouver Cantata Singers for 11 years, 5 years as assistant director. During his final year as Associate Director, Tony had the opportunity to work alongside interim director, distinguished Canadian conductor, Wayne Riddell. A long standing member of the choir, Tony developed his sense of Baroque and Romantic choral music style under past director James Fankhauser's leadership.
Over the past number of years, he played a major role in preparing and performing Bach's B Minor Mass, St. John Passion, Handel's Dixit Dominus, Messiah as well as Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610. In 2000 he prepared the choir for Bernard Labadie and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra's Bach Cantata concerts.
Choral singing opportunities have including singing with Alice Parker's professional choir in New York City. During the summer of 2000 Tony had the privilege of singing Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610 for Festival Vancouver under the direction of Baroque master Stephen Stubbs.
In addition to regular teaching duties at Columbia, Tony directs the West Coast Mennonite Chamber Choir . Formed in 1991, this group of amateur singers has recorded with such celebrities as Canadian tenor Ben Heppner, and German soprano Edith Wiens. The choir's eleventh CD features up and coming soprano Melanie Krueger. The choir donates all proceeds (over $550,000 in CD sales) to the work of the Mennonite Central Committee Supportive Care Services. The choir can be heard frequently on CBC, and has been featured by Bob Kerr from Off The Record.
Tony has spent numerous summers in Whitehorse, Yukon, directing the Summer Music Festival Choir, as well as the Canadian Association of Mennonite Schools 500 Voice Mass Choir in Saskatoon and Abbotsford. He has directed his college choir across Canada, in Germany and the University of British Columbia Singers in Mexico. During the summer of 2001, he was invited to join the faculty at the Nelson Summer Songfest. For 2002, Tony will be Simon Carrington's assistant at the Nelson Summer Songfest.
In addition to studying with Alice Parker in New York, Tony has studied Lieder singing with the late Erik Werba in Ossiach, Austria. While on study leave in 2000 to complete his Master of Music degree, his favourite activity was singing bass in the renaissance men's group Sacred Harp, directed by Erik Hannan.
In 2006 Tony had the priviledge of being the first Canadian invited to Australia to work with the National Youth Choir of Australia, as well as present lectures for the Royal School of Church Music in Brisbane.
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Claire Iffla (Student)
If God has given you the talent of music and singing, then the "Columbia Choir" is an excellent place to learn to be a good steward of that talent. Tony Funk, the director, takes a small group of auditioned singers and teaches them to use that skill with excellence and diligence. The choir itself becomes a tightly knit group throughout the year that offers a great atmosphere to learn and be stretched in the area of music and at times a place of prayer and support as students go through their year of studies. The choir CD and the tour at the end of the year are just two of the great blessings and rewards for all of the hard work that is put in during the year. Choir isn't something that can be fully defined in words, it is meant to be experienced in all of its fun, challenges, learning and blessings!
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