Ontario Heartland Chorus was founded from an amalgamation of the Mississauga City Chorus and the Trillium Oakville Chorus on February 8, 1996, chartered with Sweet Adelines International. Under the co-direction of Anne Prins and Fred Lilly, Ontario Heartland's first competition was in the spring of 1996 in Syracuse, NY.
Directed by Anne Prins from 1997 to 2012, Ontario Heartland Chorus earned several Regional medals, including First Place and Second Place medals in the small chorus division.
Jan-Ake Westin became Director in 2013, taking the chorus to First Place and Second Place (small chorus), and earned Most-Improved Chorus Award in 2016.
Hannah Barton joined as Co-Director in 2018. Under the co-direction of Jan-Ake and Hannah, Ontario Heartland broke through into the top five for the first time, earning a fourth-place overall finish.
Hannah took the chorus forward as sole director in 2019 when Ontario Heartland Chorus again placed fourth overall and won the small chorus division.
The year 2019 also welcomed two changes: Leila Brown joined as Assistant Director in June; and the chorus name was changed to The Heartland Singers in November.
COVID-19 restrictions in 2020 and 2021 required THS to hold virtual rehearsals on Zoom and prevented regional competitions from taking place.
Region 16 competition 2022 was held virtually through video submissions. Hannah Barton led The Heartland Singers to win the small chorus division and place second overall.
The year 2023 brought the first opportunity to compete in person in four years! The Heartland Singers won the Region 16 small chorus division once again and placed 7th in the world for Division A regional scores.
-- Dorothea Phair, THS Historian
