Carol Ratzlaff

Carol Woodward Ratzlaff maintains an active career as a choral conductor, educator, singer, and private voice teacher, after her retirement from the Toronto District School Board. Having recently joined the Faculty at The Oscar Peterson School of Music, Royal Conservatory of Music, Carol has also continued to share her passion for vocal music education as a Sessional Instructor at the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto; and with Vocal Music Teacher candidates at OISE, University of Toronto and the Faculty of Education, University of Windsor. Through Carol’s diverse teaching outlets, her former students can be found in university music faculties, as award-winning singer/songwriters, as music teachers across the GTA and beyond, and as lifelong advocates for the power of choral music.
 
Carol is Artistic Director and Founder of VIVA Singers Toronto, and conducts the Main Chorus, the Chamber Youth Leadership Singers, the SATB Chamber Singers, and the Every Voice Matters Chorus for teens and adults with disabilities. She will be celebrating her twenty-third year in this role in the 2022-2023 season.

Carol has performed across Canada and internationally as a member of the Elmer Iseler Singers, the Elora Festival Singers, and has been engaged as a guest artist with the Pax Christi Chorale, the Toronto Chamber Choir, and the Toronto Consort. She currently sings with Soundstreams’ Choir 21.

As a PhD student in music education at the University of Toronto, Carol intends to research opportunities for people with disabilities to be full participants in choral performance. She holds a MMus in vocal performance from the University of British Columbia, with degrees in vocal performance and music education from Western University and the University of Toronto.