About Us

In 1967, during Canada's centennial celebrations, a dozen Whitby citizens, led by Joyce and Joe Wainwright, responded to the Federal Government's invitation to mark Canada's 100th birthday by forming the "County Town Singers". Today we number over 65 singers and continue to grow and evolve each year. 

The choir's dedication to community service was established early in our history. Singing is great fun, but we also highly value the opportunity to contribute to the cultural fabric of Durham Region through our lifelong commitment to community service. We love entertaining our audiences, from small performances for seniors groups, service clubs and church fundraisers, to concert halls across Canada and Europe. We continue to grow and strive for choral excellence  with a wide variety of repertoire that spans every genre and style.

We are a non-profit organization, donating proceeds and efforts to various social causes in Durham. We cover a portion of our expenses through revenues from membership fees, fundraising and tickets sales, but count on donations to help us manage the additional expenses of rehearsing and performing in this community.

We invite requests to perform at various types of private and charitable events. Why? Because we love singing and sharing musical joy with others! If you are interested in partnering in a fundraising concert with our choir, hiring us for your own event, or looking for entertainment for an organization you support, please visit our contact page to get in touch.

Our Directing Team

Richard Heinzle

Musical Director 

Richard feels fortunate to have the opportunity to conduct the County Town Singers. He has been involved in community music making from an early age, starting with the community band in his hometown in Austria.

In Canada, he has conducted a wide variety of choirs including community, church, youth, college, choirs for people with disabilities, and ethnic choirs.
Currently, Richard serves as music director and organist at the Anglican Church of St. Andrew’s in Scarborough, as well as music director of the Aurora
Evergreen Choir and the South Huron Community Choirs.

He graduated from Carleton University with a B.A. in music, from University of Arkansas with a Masters in conducting, and from Ball State University in Indiana with a Doctorate in Orchestral Conducting. He has also conducted several orchestras in Canada and the United States.
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Since 2001, Richard has lived in Richmond Hill with his wife Lourdes and their sons, Christopher and Benjamin.​

Craig Garnham

Assistant Director ​

As a composer, conductor, accompanist, teacher, and music director, Craig Garnham enjoys a multifaceted career in music. He received both his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Classical Music and Master of Arts Degree in Choral Conducting from York University.

In addition to the position of Assistant Director for County Town Singers, he is the Director of Music at St. James Presbyterian Church in Stouffville, and Organist at St. John Chrysostom Parish in Newmarket. 
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Craig also creates and produces a variety of styles of music. To date, he has recorded and released 2 full length albums. Most recently, he conducted, recorded, and produced a virtual performance of Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater for Good Friday 2021.

Craig has performed throughout the GTA as well as internationally at events such as the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella, as well as at Carnegie Hall in May 2019.
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 Jeff Vidov

Accompanist

Canadian born composer/pianist Jeff Vidov first attracted attention by winning the SOCAN Composer’s Award for his first orchestral work “AWAKEN” in 1994.

​He received his BM as a scholarship student at Eastman School of Music and his Masters degree at the Manhattan School of Music. Craig had private lessons with Pulitzer Prize winning composers Christopher Rouse and Joseph Schwantner, as well as eminent composers Samuel Adler, Warren Benson, Richard Danielpour and Robert Morris and learned vocal technique for 3 years from Donald Neuen (student of the famous vocal conductor Robert Shaw).

Jeff has composed and recorded the film scores for 13 movies, 2 tv shows and  2 theatre productions, as well as classical/concert works for orchestra, chamber groups, and numerous solo and duo works.

As a classical pianist, Jeff has played much of the repertoire including many piano concerti of Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms, Mendelssohn, and Liszt and he has accompanied many opera singers and instrumentalists. He is the owner of H of C recording Studios in Toronto.​