“I go to Lions Gate every week because the chance to sing with 100+ friends and to help create such sublime music must not be wasted!”
Welcome to Lions Gate Chorus
When you walk into the halls of a Lions Gate rehearsal an energy surrounds you, the rich brilliant sound envelops you and over 100 voices singing in nearly perfect a cappella harmony raises every hair on your arms.
A stunning ballad, exquisite detail in every note portraying a deep character and story that leaves your heart beating faster.
An uptune, the chorus erupts into sound and movement! The front row slides into a slinky, sultry dance leaving you breathless.
Lions Gate Chorus is a vibrant community of over 100 singers from all backgrounds and with all levels of musical experience who love to sing. From students to lawyers, business owners to homemakers, we are a community of strong, caring members who believe in the community we create together. We are a safe, accepting, and positive environment where members have the freedom to be themselves, be ambitious, show their strengths, and develop new ones without fear of judgment. By working together every week with the common goal of musical and performance excellence, we build strong bonds that continue outside of the rehearsal hall. Lions Gate Chorus welcomes all cis and trans women, as well as non-binary people who are comfortable in a space that centres on the experiences of women.
Our members not only contribute to the chorus vocally and visually, but many perform in smaller ensembles, work on our board of directors and music teams, perform odd jobs on committees, or provide a friendly shoulder to a fellow risermate when needed. This is a place where everyone matters.
Internationally Recognized and Ranked
Every singer is a dues paying member. One of the benefits of membership with Lions Gate is the opportunity for international travel and competition! This Vancouver choir is Internationally ranked among barbershop groups and known the world over for pushing the boundaries of classic barbershop to create show packages that engage, entertain and thrill audiences! We have competed on the world stage dozens of times with our most recent being: Louisville, New Orleans, Las Vegas, Nashville, Houston, and Hawaii. With a string of top 10 finishes thrilling the audience 2023 culminated in a first place, world champion result!
Our director, Sandy Marron, is a Master 700 Director, the highest designation possible, and is a Certified Sound Judge. She is a professional barbershop coach, traveling the world as a coach for both Sweet Adelines and the Barbershop Harmony Society.
Being an International level competitor means we bring in the best coaches in the world. Constant vocal and musical education and improvement is another fantastic benefit of membership! We are fortunate to call Master 700 Director Justin Miller of the International Gold Medal winning Westminster Chorus one of our primary musical coaches. We are also extremely pleased that our vocal production and vocal health is steeped in proper technique as taught by vocal pedagogue Steve Scott (doctoral candidate) whom we also call friend & coach. Since we aren’t just about the vocal aspect of performance but the movement aspect as well, we are truly blessed to have on our team one of the best choreographers in the Sweet Adelines organization, Jan Alexandersson from Sweden.
A Rich History
Founded in 1954, Lions Gate Chorus is the longest-standing Canadian chapter of Sweet Adelines International, a worldwide organization of women singing in the barbershop style.
Based in Vancouver, BC, Canada, this award winning choir has consistently climbed the ranks in the competition world. They have repeatedly earned gold medals at the Western Canadian Regional competitions, consistently improving their score over the years.
Through their commitment to the musical education and vocal skill development of every member, they have climbed up the International ranks, consistently finishing in the top five since Calgary in 2007. In October, 2023, they took to Louisville with new music and an exciting top ten package which they unleashed on the world and earned the title of international champion International, the first ever perfect score in a category and the coveted Most Entertaining – Audience Choice Award!
Musical Director Sandy Robinson Marron has been with the choir for 32 years, and her leadership inspires the chorus to strive for excellence at every rehearsal and performance. This show choir’s innovative choreography, created by Swede Janne Alexandersson, supports the musical plan while showing off their strong and sexy persona. Not content to simply hone her talents at home, Sandy travels extensively throughout the world coaching other groups to new levels of excellence.
Known for their touching ballads, explosive uptunes, and exciting pop music in 4-part a cappella harmony, Lions Gate is always an audience favourite.