Peterborough Singers Announce Shawn Grenke as New Artistic Director

A message from Peterborough Singers Artistic Director Emeritus Syd Birrell:

Dear friends,

I have some wonderful news to share with you today. The Peterborough Singers’ Board of Directors has just announced the appointment of Shawn Grenke as the choir’s new Artistic Director and Conductor!

I could not be more delighted with the result. Let me tell you a little about Shawn, and why I am so thrilled with the outcome of the Singers’ national search for a new director.

When my wife Pam and I founded the Singers in 1990, one of the first things we did was invite Elmer Iseler – arguably the single most accomplished choral conductor in Canada – to come to Peterborough and guest-conduct Carmina Burana. It was a bold move, to put it mildly. But we wanted to signal from day one that this choir was going to aim for the highest standard. That concert sold out, and it set the tone for everything that followed.

Thirty-five years later, our new Artistic Director comes to us straight from the Elmer Iseler Singers, where he has been serving as their collaborative pianist since 2009. You could not write a more fitting next chapter.

Shawn brings to his role with the Singers a wealth of experience leading community choirs, collaborating with some of Canada’s finest choral ensembles, and championing the work of Canadian composers.

He currently serves as Director of Music at Eglinton St. George’s United Church in Toronto, Artistic Director of the Achill Choral Society in Orangeville, and Instructor of Conducting at Brock University. He holds degrees from Mount Allison University and the University of Toronto, and is completing a doctorate in Choral Conducting at the University of Alberta.

Shawn is a conductor, a pianist, and an organist. As a fellow organist, that last one matters to me a great deal. The organ is not just an instrument. It is a direct line into over a thousand years of musical tradition. When you train as an organist, you live inside the repertoire. You absorb the architecture of the music. For a choir like ours, one that takes on the great oratorios and the major choral works year after year, that kind of grounding matters enormously.

You can read Shawn’s full biography here: https://www.peterboroughsingers.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Shawn-Grenke-Bio.pdf

When I announced my retirement, I told transition committee members that they needed to ask themselves what makes us the choir that we are, and what values we treasure most. In my conversations with Shawn, I have been delighted to discover that we share a common vision of what singing in a great choir means.

This choir has always been about more than just good singing. It is about building something meaningful in a community, and about believing that a small city can produce music that rivals anything in the country. Shawn shares that belief, and I cannot wait to see what he does with it.

I am so thrilled to be able to tell you today that the future of the Peterborough Singers looks very bright indeed.

I have asked Shawn to share a few words with you himself. I think you will quickly see why we are all so excited.

With warm regards,

Syd Birrell

Founding Artistic Director, Peterborough Singers