Unison Choruses Canada is a national not-for-profit organization serving as a hub for Canadian 2SLGBTQIA+ choruses, fostering connections and providing essential resources for administration, fundraising, and programming. Your donation helps us support these vibrant communities and ensure their voices continue to be heard.
Music Healing Spirit
The theme for Unison Festival 2026
Unison Festival 2026 invites singers, choirs, and audiences from across Canada to come together in Vancouver, for a long weekend of music, connection, and community. Our theme, Music Healing Spirit, speaks to the transformative power of music in our lives – especially during times of challenge, change, and renewal.
Why This Theme?
The words music, healing, and spirit reflect the lived experience of our communities, our history, and our hopes for the future. These words are powerful on their own – and even more powerful together. They offer inspiration, flexibility, and room for many interpretations:
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Music: vocal or instrumental sounds arranged to create beauty, emotion, and connection
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Healing: a process of becoming sound or whole again, physically or emotionally
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Spirit: the non-physical part of a person that holds emotion, character, and meaning
These themes resonate with Unison’s mission and with our festival's role as a space for expression, solidarity, and joy.
A Guiding Thread for the Festival
We invite all choirs participating in Unison 2026 to use the festival theme as a creative starting point when planning their repertoire and performances. Each chorus is encouraged to reflect on how one or more aspects of the theme – music, healing, spirit – connect with your singers and your community.
Music can comfort and challenge, spark joy or bring tears. It allows us to express grief, hope, resilience, and love. Whether it's a soaring classical piece, a catchy pop anthem, a protest song, or a heartfelt ballad, the music we sing can offer healing to ourselves and to those who hear it.
More Than a Performance
At its heart, Unison is about community. Every note sung, every story shared, and every voice raised in harmony brings us closer together. During the festival, delegates can expect:
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Inspiring choral performances that span styles and genres
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Learning opportunities in voice, leadership, and music as a tool for connection
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Time and space to reflect, recharge, and celebrate with others
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A shared sense of purpose that uplifts our whole community
We also honour the Indigenous peoples of this land and recognize that music has always been a part of spiritual, healing, and communal life here. Through respectful musical tributes and shared experience, we link ourselves to those who have walked before.
Make the Theme Your Own
“Music Healing Spirit” is not a single idea – it’s an open invitation. It asks us to consider how music affects us, what healing can look like, and what keeps our spirits strong. Some songs might tell a personal story of loss or resilience. Others may uplift, energize, or simply bring joy. There’s no one right way to explore this theme.
We encourage everyone – singers, conductors, audience members – to be a little open, a little brave, and a little vulnerable. Sharing our stories through music can unite us in purpose and strengthen our sense of community.
How Will Your Choir Explore “Music Healing Spirit”?
Whether your pieces are thoughtful or playful, mournful or triumphant, we welcome your unique take on this theme. Let your repertoire be a reflection of what matters most to your choir right now.
Whatever we bring to the stage – and whatever we take home in our hearts – the experience will be enriching, powerful, and full of meaning.
