Hailing from North Carolina, The Royal Voices of Charlotte Choir are en route to Powell River, where they will perform and compete at the International Choral Kathaumixw Festival. We are pleased to welcome The Royal Voices of Charlotte at St James' to hear them sing.
Admission is by donation. Please confirm your attendance for planning purposes.
The Royal Voices of Charlotte were formed in 2019 by Dr Justin Smith, Director of Choral Activities at Queens University, as an auditioned mixed choir performing repertoire of all types. In 2022, they performed by invitation at the North Carolina American Choral Directors Association state conference, sang at Carnegie Hall and collaborated with Bach Akademie Charlotte at their Charlotte Bach Festival. The choir is thrilled to appear at St James’s on the way to Powell River, where they will perform and compete at the International Choral Kathaumixw.
Dr Justin Smith is an Assistant Professor of Music, Director of the Music Program and Director of Choral Activities at Queens University of Charlotte, where he conducts three choirs, leads the music program and teaches courses in music history, conducting and film music. For six years he was the Director of Choral Activities and holder of the Joseph Naumes Endowed Chair in Music at Marylhurst University in Portland, Oregon.
In 2020, he founded the Royal Voices of Charlotte, which has performed at the NCACDA state conference, in collaboration with Bach Akademie Charlotte, and at Carnegie Hall, New York City. This summer Royal Voices will perform and compete at the International Choral Kathaumixw in Canada.
Dr Smith is also the director of the Portland Phoenix Chamber Choir in Portland, Oregon, which won awards at choral competitions in Ireland, Italy and Latvia, and appeared by invitation at the NWACDA conference. Their upcoming album of the works of Margaret Bonds will be released later this year by Centaur Records. He holds the DMA in Choral Conducting from the Moores School of Music, University of Houston. with additional degrees from Wesleyan University and the University of Oregon.