One people, one voice

Dallas Bergen has always been very passionate about music even at a very young age. His interest in music did not come so much from his parents but more from himself. He grew up in Regina, which has a rich cultural life in music. When his parents took notice of his interest in music, they put him into piano lessons. While Dallas still plays the piano, his passion lies in singing in choirs.
One of the biggest factors influencing him growing up was his best friend’s father. He was the choir teacher at their high school. Dallas joined the high school choir in eighth grade, and ever since then he has been singing in choirs. By the time Dallas was in 12th grade, he had become involved with the school music program and was also doing some vocal jazz. Dallas adds that he did some choir directing with eighth and ninth graders in his final high school year. During that time, he decided that he wanted a future in music: to be a musician or a music teacher. Dallas graduated high school in 1995 and went to university to study music education. He graduated from the University of Victoria in Victoria, British Columbia in 2000.
Before settling in Toronto in 2005, Dallas wanted to travel to different countries—and he did. He went to Thailand, Taiwan, and South Korea among others and taught English. Later on, Dallas decided to stop traveling because he wanted to start his career as a musician. He explains that one of his biggest inspirations has been choirs for young adults of different cities in Canada, specifically the Kokopelli in Edmonton and Prairie Voices in Winnipeg. Seeing how the leaders of these groups brought young people to sing and make music together, Dallas was inspired to form Univox in 2005, wherein he is the co-founder and the artistic director. He shares that when he first started the choir, it was a bit slow going. Dallas also adds that during the choir’s first rehearsal, only one person showed up. But following that, Univox has expanded and now the group is about 40 people. Univox is currently in their fourth season and has gathered some success in Toronto. Click on the link to find out more about Univox.

Lucas Marchand, a close friend and a colleague to Dallas says, “Univox has been a great outlet for Dallas’s creative energy and passion for music and community.” Dallas also sings professionally for another group called the Nathaniel Dett Chorale. Here, he works with people from diverse musical and cultural backgrounds. “It’s really a lot of fun to work with people from different backgrounds with different talents that way, and sing such diverse music,” shares Dallas.
Aside from being in the Nathaniel Dett Chorale and being the artistic director of Univox, Dallas also serves as a church music director and works closely with the children and youth. “Dallas displays great and infectious passion for making music. His approach with choirs has been to always inspire them to reach their highest potential. And evidence of that is that the choir increasingly does so,” shares Shawn Newton, the minister of the church where Dallas is choir director.
Dallas teaches music in different public schools. He has conducted children’s choirs in a number of Toronto public schools as well. Dallas’s career as a musician is a combination of a few more different smaller jobs. “Put them all together, it’s a pretty great living that I enjoy very much,” Dallas says.
It shows that Dallas loves to share music with the community by performing, conducting and directing choirs. According to his friends and colleagues, Dallas is a superb musician and glows with emotion when on stage; and that is what set him apart as a performer and director.
“The most moving moments in my relationship with Dallas have been to hear him speak of the power of music to heal and build communities—and then to see him actually do it,” Newton says.

Below is a video of Dallas conducting the Univox Choir.

Advertisement