HOWARD DYCK
Howard Dyck [pronounced Dick] is the founding Artistic Director and Conductor of Consort Caritatis as well as Artistic Director Emeritus of the Grand Philharmonic Choir (Kitchener-Waterloo) and Conductor Emeritus of the Bach Elgar Choir (Hamilton). Mr. Dyck is known across Canada as the former program host of Choral Concert and Saturday Afternoon at the Opera on CBC Radio.
Howard Dyck’s international conducting career has taken him to twenty countries on three continents where he has conducted, among others, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Arnold Schoenberg Choir of Vienna, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the Mozarteum Orchestra (Salzburg), the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra and Obretenov Choir (Bulgaria), the Bach Collegium Stuttgart and Gächinger Kantorei (Germany), the Kunming Symphony Orchestra (China), the State Symphony Orchestra of St. Petersburg (Russia), the Orquestra Do Norte (Portugal), and the Taipei Symphony Orchestra & Chorus.
His discography includes: Bach – Missa Brevis in g; Handel – Messiah Highlights (SONY Classical); Verdi – Requiem; Beethoven – Missa Solemnis (EMI); Brahms – Ein deutsches Requiem. Under Howard Dyck’s direction, the Grand Philharmonic Choir and Consort Caritatis have been broadcast nationally on CBC Radio and Television as well as on Vision TV and throughout the People’s Republic of China.
Singers of international distinction who have performed under Howard Dyck’s baton include: Sondra Radvanovsky, Nathalie Paulin, Measha Brueggergosman, Suzie Leblanc, Laura Whalen, Karina Gauvin, Marie-Nicole Lemieux, Maureen Forrester, Catherine Robbin, Susan Platts, Ben Heppner, Richard Margison, Paul Frey, Michael Schade, Gary Relyea, John Relyea, Russell Braun, Phillip Ens, James Westman, Brett Polegato, and Nathan Berg.
Educated in Canada, the United States and Germany, Howard Dyck has received numerous honours for his contributions to musical culture, both nationally and internationally. Listed in Canadian Who’s Who, he holds honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University, and is an Honorary Professor of Music at the Yunnan Arts University (Kunming, China). He has received the Distinguished Service Award from both the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors and Choirs Ontario. Recently appointed to the Waterloo Region Hall of Fame, Howard Dyck is a Member of the Order of Canada, and a recipient of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal.
