Morna Edmundson was on the road driving when she got the call from the Governor General of Canada's office.

"It was totally out the blue, I had no idea it was coming," recalled the longtime 性视界传媒 resident, who on Dec. 18 was named a member of the Order of Canada among  including star actor Ryan Reynolds and multimedia artist Stan Douglas.

"I'm really grateful for the nomination (by Sandra Phillips, longtime choral singer), and of course I'm honoured by the designation."

Edmundson, an award-winning choral director and co-founder of , was honoured as "an inspiring mentor whose innovative programming, commissions and engagement serve as a lasting legacy for the choral community. She has helped establish Vancouver鈥檚 national and worldwide reputation as a choral mecca."

The Order of Canada appointment comes in her final season as Elektra's artistic director, a role she'll exit following the choir's  of concerts 鈥� a kind of victory lap for Edmundson, at the helm since Elektra's inception in 1987.

This spring, the choir will perform a pair of in her honour, first in South 性视界传媒 at Good Shepherd Church on May 25 and then at Christ Church Cathedral in Vancouver six days later, May 31.

This "unmissable choral farewell" will feature Edmundson's 鈥渄esert island playlist鈥� of Canadian works drawn from nearly four decades of Elektra commissions, plus premieres of brand-new works by Laura Hawley, Cassie Luftspring and Tawnie Olson. The program is on , where tickets are sold.

"It's beautiful to have the recognition, and the work would happen anyway, if you know what I mean," said Edmundson, who lives in the Guildford area. "I didn't do it for the recognition, I did it because I believed in it, and I still do. I'm such a champion of group singing 鈥� everybody's life is better for it, and there's all kinds of scientific proof about the social benefits, the physical benefits, emotional benefits, of singing with other people, and so that's really what appeals to me."

Passionate since childhood about choral singing, Edmundson obtained degrees and diplomas in vocal music in Vancouver, Bellingham and Stockholm, Sweden.

This year she's leaving Elektra but will remain artistic director of , an auditioned ensemble for mature voices (age 55-plus) in SATB (soprano, alto, tenor, bass). Full of lifelong choral singers, EnChor is "a beautiful, beautiful community of about 60 singers. The choir is not nearly as famous as Elektra, but quietly doing important work," underlined Edmundson, who no longer sings but might soon have time again for that.

"I used to sing in the Vancouver Chamber Choir, for about a decade in my 20s, kind of thing," she explained. "I don't sing in a choir anymore, which is kind of my loss, you know, because it's like a sport 鈥� you have to use it or lose it. So maybe that's for a time when I'm not doing Elektra, so that happens this summer. I'll have a lot less emails and communications."

Back in 1987, Edmundson's conversation with Diane Loomer (who died in 2012) gave birth to Elektra Women鈥檚 Choir. 鈥淚 had just come back from studying in Sweden for a year, and we thought, 鈥楴o one is singing the women鈥檚 choir repertoire 鈥� I wonder what the repertoire is?鈥欌��

To date, Elektra has performed more than 100 commissions of choral music during Edmundson's 38 years on the job. For the May concerts, "I decided to choose only from those, and we're doing three new commissioned works," she said of what will be an emotional farewell.

"Yes, oh my goodness. And the music, we've sung, you know, probably 600 pieces of music," Edmundson added. "When I look at the library list, I can hear the music 鈥� you know, 'Oh, I remember that! Oh, the singers loved that one!' So choosing what to sing in that concert is partly what I loved, the composers that I wanted to feature, pieces that I knew had spoken to the choir and the audience when they were premiered, some of them 25, 30 years ago and some of them last year. So they all sort of have a connection to our story in that final concert."

Of note, in September the choir announced as a choir of adult treble voices, "a natural extension of Elektra鈥檚 commitment to inclusivity and diversity," along with a relaunched website. is sought for work starting July 1, 2025.