Join the 24th Season of the HVC. Registration is on now!
Although we have started rehearsing, you can still join the group.
We now have three brand new pieces to learn: A Doo-Wop song, an 80’s style pop tune, and a Be-Bop song. Come join us!
Voice Clinic with Rita di Ghent
November 3rd, 2026, we will have Rita di Ghent conduct a singing clinic during the regular 7-9pm rehearsal. Free to all HVC members.
Rita di Ghent (BA, MA) is a musician, writer, storyteller, and teacher whose life and work have been shaped by extraordinary experiences. In her 30s, she survived a prolonged coma and months of minimal stimulation in ICU due to a sudden-onset virus that caused her lungs to fail. When she emerged from the coma, Rita was vegetative. Over the next two years, she relearned how to walk, talk, and sing. In the process, she discovered a rare gift: the ability to feel in her own body what others are doing and experiencing, whether in voice, rhythm, or expression.
That gift now defines Rita’s teaching. With her highly analytical mind, deep sensing, and curiosity, Rita is able to diagnose and guide students through technical and creative challenges with precision and clarity.
Rita’s been a faculty member at the School of Arts, Media, Design & Performance at York University since 2000.
Rita and Ben have been musical friends, colleagues, and fellow eggheads for 20 years.
“Electrifying…extraordinarily compelling” (South China Post)
“…one of the most interesting singers of the contemporary era…” (New York Times).
“[di Ghent] paints lyrical pictures with colour and detachment, pulling you in and leaving you wondering… Maybe one day they’ll make one of those Canadian Heritage commercials about the invention of Sprawl…” (Eye Magazine, Toronto)
“di Ghent is a true original…absolutely captivating. This vocalist is a coveted Canadian treasure.” (The Jazz Review)
Cabaret December 5th, 2026
