Apfelstadt, Hilary
Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt is Professor Emerita of Choral Studies at the University of Toronto, where she held the Elmer Iseler Chair in Conducting. From 2013 to 2018, she was Artistic Director of Exultate Chamber Singers, a semi-professional ensemble in Toronto.
A native Canadian, she has led her university choirs in performances at conferences of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), and at Podium, the national professional conference of Choral Canada. She has guest-conducted numerous honors choruses and festivals through the U.S. and Canada, including more than 35 all-state high school choirs. She directed the 2014 National Youth Choir of Canada and has conducted choral festivals internationally. Her teaching experiences range from public school to community ensembles to church choirs.
During her significant career, Hilary Apfelstadt has mentored many young conductors. She has advised almost 90 graduate conducting majors, many of whom hold significant teaching and church positions. A former national president of ACDA (2007–2009), she serves on the editorial board for the ACDA Choral Journal.
A prolific author, she has contributed chapters to several books published by GIA Publications: Wisdom, Wit and Will (Joan Conlon, ed.), Conducting Women’s Choirs: Strategies for Success (Debra Spurgeon, ed.) and Teaching Music Through Performance in Choir, Volumes 4 and 5. Most recently, she co-edited and authored essays in Choral Repertoire by Women Composers, published by GIA Publications in 2025. Her book on the life and work of Canadian composer Ruth Watson Henderson, I Didn’t Want It To Be Boring (Toronto: Prism Publishers), won Choral Canada’s award for Outstanding Choral Publication in 2018.