About

Musique Royale is delighted to present Capella Regalis Men and Boys Choir in Lunenburg on December 21st at 4pm for “A Chorister’s Christmas”, as the choir brings us a new edition of their cherished Christmas concert series, now in its 15th season! Directed by Nick Halley, and featuring organist Paul Halley, the choir has prepared a unique musical celebration of Christmas that weaves together works from a 12th-century female mystic, folk songs arranged by 20th-century composers, traditional German and French carols, and hymns calling for hearty audience participation.

About Capella Regalis

A free music education in a centuries-old tradition. Inspiring and accessible professional performances.

Capella Regalis is a Canadian charity dedicated to training singers and to offering excellent choral music presentations to the public. Founded in Nova Scotia by director Nick Halley in 2010 to build upon the best aspects of the centuries-old European tradition of church choirs and to revitalize this method of music training in Canada, Capella Regalis now comprises a Boys Choir, Girls Choir, and professional Men’s Choir (including Young Men with recently changed voices). Our children’s choirs are free and open to any child who passes a basic audition.

Capella Regalis Choirs regularly sing Choral Evensong in the Cathedral Church of All Saints, Halifax, as part of the Cathedral’s Sundays at Four series. The choirs also perform concerts around Nova Scotia and beyond in a busy September – June season, and engage the public in many music outreach initiatives.

Annual performances include tour programs of sacred and secular repertoire from across the Western tradition, and the popular, annual Christmas series, A Chorister’s Christmas. In addition, Capella Regalis frequently collaborates with other groups and world-class musicians in productions of major works such as J.S. Bach’s Easter Cantata BWV 4, J.S. Bach’s Saint Matthew Passion, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, Bizet’s Carmen, Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols, Britten’s Saint Nicolas, Handel’s Te Deum, Monteverdi’s Selva Morale e Spirituale, Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610, Orff’s Carmina Burana, the Paul Winter Consort’s Missa Gaia/Earth Mass, and Schütz’s Musikalische Exequien.

Capella Regalis has hosted other choirs and performing artists from the local community as well as from across Canada for special projects, and has completed seven performance tours in the Maritimes presented by Musique Royale. In June 2022, the Scotia Festival of Music featured Nick and the boy sopranos of Capella Regalis alongside Canadian violinist Kerson Leong and string orchestra in the Canadian premiere of John Rutter’s “Visions” (a violin concerto written for Leong and boys choir).

Capella Regalis has released four CDs: Benjamin Britten: A Ceremony of Carols (2023), Love Came Down: Carols for Christmas (2019), Greater Love (2017) and My Eyes for Beauty Pine (2014), as well as many online performance broadcasts (visit our Audio and Video pages to view and hear recordings). Capella Regalis has also collaborated with other non-profit organizations on charitable causes in Nova Scotia ranging from nature conservation to food drives, and has given performances hosted by different Lieutenant Governors of Nova Scotia over the years.

In addition to services, concerts, and recordings, the young choristers of Capella Regalis enjoy an annual summer choir camp in the last week of August and other musically and socially enriching outings and experiences.