TORONTO, March 17, 2026/ SING! The Toronto Vocal Arts Festival today announced the finalists for the SING! Canadian A Cappella Championships, taking place on Saturday, May 23 at 7 pm at Koerner Hall in the Telus Centre for Performance & Learning.273 Bloor Street West. Tickets go on sale today at https://www.rcmusic.com/tickets/seats/438601
Following the overwhelming success of last year’s inaugural competition, the event has expanded to include more categories and singers. A total of 178 participants from 16 groups from across Canada and the U.S. will battle it out in four divisions: High School, Collegiate/University, Open, and Barbershop.
“Canadian A Cappella has been groundbreaking since the Nylons had the first Billboard a cappella top 20 hit, and things are looking even brighter with this year’s amazing lineup of 16 finalists!”, said Deke Sharon, Music Director of the Pitch Perfect movies, and considered the Father of Contemporary A Cappella. He will join esteemed judges Elaine Overholt and Mo Field to award prizes with a total value of more than $10,000.
“We were thrilled to have so many outstanding groups apply to participate,” said SING! Toronto General Manager J-M Erlendson. “That speaks to the broad interest in a cappella singing”.
Last year’s biggest winner, contemporary a cappella group Splüsh, took home First Place in the Open category and the Audience Choice award. Madalen Tojicic, singer and co-leader of the group, said, “It’s not an exaggeration to say that Splüsh wouldn’t exist without the SING! Canadian A Cappella Championships. The competition allowed us to grow as artists in pursuit of a common goal, receive excellent feedback from industry experts and share our debut performance on a professional stage. We’re grateful to SING! for providing a platform for new artists to share their talents and shine.”
This year’s Barbershops finalists are: All In (San Antonio and Austin, Texas); Firefly Quartet (Toronto, ON); The ‘Loo Wops (Waterloo, ON); and Voices Unlimited (Burlington, ON). Collegiate finalists are: Cal Jazz Choir (University of California, Berkeley); On That Note (Toronto Metropolitan University); The Northwest Collective (University of British Columbia); WIBI (York University). High School finalists are: Enter A Cappella (Newmarket, ON); Iroquois Ridge Chamber Choir (Oakville, ON); RHHS Chamber Choir (Richmond Hill, ON); Senator O’Connor Vocal Ensemble (North York, ON). Open Division finalists are: AV & The Inner City (Edmonton, AB); Les 6-DS (Quebec City, QC); On Cue (Calgary, AB); and The Counterfeit Sheep (Edmonton, AB).
Preliminary round judges were a cappella veterans: Kurt Sampson, Slaight Music SING! Toronto Legacy Award recipient through the group Cadence; Jernie Millan, from New York Vocal Collective; and bass singer Donovan Davis from international champions The Vocal Majority.
The 15th annual SING! Toronto festival takes place from May 20 to June 1 throughout central Toronto. Events include free and ticketed concerts, international headliners, the SING! Canadian A Cappella Championships, SING! With Pride to launch Pride Toronto, interactive programs, and a free online Business Summit. Full programming information for SING! 2026 is available at www.singtoronto.com
Sponsors for the SING! Canadian A Cappella Championships include: Canadian Music Spotlight, Long and McQuade Music, Harris Institute for the Arts, The Singer’s Company, Ontario Arts Council, Government of Ontario, Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund, and Canada’s Music Incubator.