Scott Leithead is the founder and Artistic Director of Edmonton’s Korora Choir Association and TIME Association. He has been invited to conduct provincial and state honour choirs on twenty-eight occasions and he has presented workshops in North America and beyond. Notable appearances include: adjudicating the Tampere International Festival in Finland; conducting the 2013, 2015-2019, 2023 Ellison Canadian Honour Choir; and headlining the 2017 University of Toronto Summer Conducting Symposium. He has adjudicated both the ACCC National Competition for Amateur Canadian Choirs and the Kathaumixw International Choir Festival (2014, 2016, 2023). Under his direction, Korora was the winner of both the 2015 CBC National Competition for Canadian Amateur Choirs and both the 2015 and 2016 Canadian National Music Competition. In the summer of 2019, Korora was invited to perform at the IFCM World Choral Expo in Portugal, where they represented Canada on the world stage. Also, in 2019, Korora was featured on an episode of CTV’s “The Amazing Race Canada”.
Scott has a passion for music from southern Africa, and he has been invited to work with choirs in South Africa and Namibia on numerous occasions. In 2008–2009, Scott was on sabbatical in Namibia, where he worked with the Mascato Youth Choir and many other choirs in southern Africa. Scott’s passion for innovative and unique choral music experiences has shaped the direction of the Korora Choir Association. In February 2023 he was thrilled to conduct the ISSEA Mass Choir in Johannesburg South Africa featuring international schools from across the African continent.
This year he will conduct the Manitoba Sings Adult Choir and The Ellison Canadian Honour Choir (Toronto). Scott is a long-time member of the advisory committee for the Canadian Rocky Mountain Music Festival and the Edmonton, Kelowna and Whistler Cantando Festivals. Scott was awarded Choir Alberta’s top honour, the Richard S. Eaton Award, in 2015. He also received Edmonton’s Salute to Excellence award in 2016. He has also been awarded the Syncrude Award for Innovative Direction.