Before co-founding Choir! Choir! Choir!, Nobu Adilman had never been in a choir, let alone conducted one. But his inexperience mattered little to the enthusiastic singers who came to the first drop-in event he held with Daveed Goldman in February of 2011. Gathering twice a week in the back of Clinton’s, the Annex bar where it all began, a diverse group of devotees are united in song.

“Twice a week people come out to sing. Just looking out into the crowd — it always touches me,” says Adilman.

Although still devoted to the local singers that helped build Choir! Choir! Choir!, the concept has taken off. They’ve performed at the AGO and Massey Hall, and this summer they were invited to lead an audience of 2,800 and a star-studded lineup of performers to sing “Space Oddity” in a tribute to David Bowie at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

Following Leonard Cohen’s death, the duo also brought approximately 2,500 Torontonians together to sing “Hallelujah” by candlelight at Christie Pits.

“It was very powerful to have that many people come out and a beautiful and quiet way to pay respect to someone who has been so important to us over the years,” says Adilman.

Raised in Toronto, the diversity and community he sees every week at Choir! Choir! Choir! was also present at his high school, Northern Secondary School.

“Northern is an amazing school,” he recalls. “A large school with such a diverse student body. It was a great reflection of what Toronto is, in many ways.”

After graduating, Adilman moved to Japan for a year before returning to Canada to attend Dalhousie University, where he whet his chops in the entertainment business at the university’s radio station.
In Halifax, he had the opportunity to be part of a collaborative community on a grand scale.

“In Halifax, if you wanted an experience, you had to make it yourself. My friends were a wonderful collection of filmmakers and artists — we literally turned a jam space into a venue, and we started bands.

We built a scene. It still, to this day, is one of the most inspirational times because it showed you could really create something from nothing,” says Adilman.

He continues to do just this through Choir! Choir! Choir!. Not only does the group unite people in song, but they also work together on many philanthropic initiatives.

Last year, members sponsored two Syrian families. This winter, Adilman and Goldman launched a fundraising event, 25 Days of Charity! Charity! Charity!, that features a charity chosen by a choir member each day.

“Choir is a lot of things, but one part that’s really important to us is to use our platform to reflect our community,” says Adilman.