about BCC
The Brampton Children’s Chorus is a community choir consisting of boys and girls ages 8-14. The choir was formed in September 2014 by Mark McCallen, a music teacher at St. Roch Catholic Secondary School. The choir provides students an opportunity to share their love of music with others. The choir meets every Wednesday at St. Joseph of Nazareth Anglican Church from 4:30-6:30pm.
Our Team
Mark McCallen
Music Director
Mark McCallen is a graduate of St. Michael’s Choir School. He continued his studies at the University of Toronto graduating with honours in Choral Studies. He co-founded the Victoria Scholars, a male choral ensemble, in 1993. He currently teaches vocal and instrumental music at St. Roch, a Regional Arts school in Brampton. The program at St. Roch boasts 14 different music ensembles. Mark directs the Junior Chamber Choir, The Men’s Ensemble and The Senior Chamber Choir. Mark founded the Brampton Children’s Chorus in 2014 and continues to look for opportunities for the choristers to continue to develop.
MANISHYA JAYASUNDERA
Senior Choir Director
Manishya Jayasundera is an emerging conductor, educator, singer and pianist. She recently received her Bachelor of Music from the University of Toronto (UofT) where she completed her degree in Classical Voice Music Education. Her next steps include completing the Master of Teaching program at OISE with Music and French as her teachable subjects. Her first experience learning music at a young age was through piano lessons. She completed her ARCT diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM).
She fell in love with singing and choral music through children’s choir. She continued her studies in vocal music during high school through RCM and the Regional Arts Program at St. Roch C.S.S. During that time, she worked with the Brampton Children’s Chorus as a pianist. Through her studies at UofT, she has become very passionate about choral music education and conducting. Manishya was the apprentice conductor with the Exultate Chamber Singers at their October 2022 concert. She was also the most recent conducting intern at St. Michael’s Choir School in Toronto. Manishya is excited to work and make music with BCC!
GILLIAN
WANG
Junior Choir Conductor
Gillian is a recent graduate from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Music with honours in Music Education and will be pursuing her Masters of Teaching at OISE at U of T with a focus in music.
Gillian’s ambition for music education is also realized through various facets of her professional life. She is a music teacher at Western Heights Montessori Academy, her private piano studio, and as the co-director of Hai Hua Children’s Arts Summer Camp in Mississauga.
Engaging in these varied capacities she fosters artistic exploration and nurtures growth within all her students, instilling a love for music and creativity. In the choral world, Gillian was also the most recent apprentice conductor with Exultate Chamber Singers, and conducted in their end-of-season concert in May 2023. Looking ahead, Gillian can’t wait to share her passion for choral music with the next generation. She is so enthused to work with BCC and Junior Choir this upcoming year. a chance to nurture and inspire young voices.