Morna Edmundson is one of Canada's best-known choral conductors, with special interests in the areas of tone colour, language, and interpretation. As a conductor, singer, and administrator, her professional music career spans over twenty-five years, including eight years as a professional singer in the Vancouver Chamber Choir. Ms. Edmundson is best known for her 22 years of accomplishment as Co-Founder and Co-Conductor of Elektra's Women's Choir, with which she has received numerous honours and awards. At the end of the 2008/2009 season, Morna was appointed Artistic Director of Elektra at the same time as her long-time colleague Diane Loomer, C.M. stepped into the Conductor Emeritus role.

Morna's career as a choral musician has followed her passion for a cappella singing, for contemporary music, for early music, and for integrating the beauty of folksong traditions into choral repertoire. For 14 years she shared her love of quality repertoire with a new generation of singers in her role as Associate Director of Coastal Sound Music Academy, where she was Music Director of the mixed-voice Youth Chamber Choir. She has adjudicated in North America and Asia, conducted honour choirs in several states, co-directed the ACDA National Women's Honour Choir, and gives frequent workshops with choirs of all ages. Ms. Edmundson has given lectures on her work at local, national, and international meetings of choral professionals. For six years she served on the Board of the Directors of the International Federation for Choral Music. In May 2000 she was presented with the Healey Willan Award for outstanding service to the BC Choral Federation, an organization she serves as a member of the President's Advisory Council.

In February 2009 Morna was a recipient of the BC Community Achievement Award, which recognized her gifted organizational talent, leadership by example, and Morna's encouragement of others to pursue their musical and choral goals.

Morna is also an accomplished arts administrator and cultural leader in Vancouver, serving as Administrative Director of Festival Vancouver, Co-Chair of the Arts Festivals Association of Metro Vancouver, volunteer President of the Coastal Sound International Choral Festival, formal and informal mentor to other conductors and administrators, and frequent contributor to cultural planning in the city and province. Prior to these roles, she served as Executive Director of the World of Children's Choirs 2001 festival and symposium, and Assistant Director of the 1993 World Symposium on Choral Music in Vancouver. Ms. Edmundson holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of British Columbia, a Diploma in Choir Pedagogy from the Stockholm Conservatory and a Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from Western Washington University.

Groups Directed

Elektra Women's Choir