Spring in the Chapel

Spring in the Chapel 2025

Tyndale invites you to journey toward Easter with a special worship experience.

Tyndale invites you to journey toward Easter with a special worship experience. Join us as Dr. Melissa Davis directs the Tyndale Community Choir (TCC), the TCC Band and the Tyndale Singers, along with guest soloists Jalesa Walkes and Saj McKenley.

Also featuring Dr. Ken Michell (Chair, Department of Music), the Tyndale Band, Jazz Combo and Guitar Ensemble.

Alan Kan Portfolio Managment Team. ScotiaMcleod, a division of Scotia Capital Inc.

Spring in the Chapel is graciously sponsored by Alan Kan Portfolio Management Team

Date: Saturday April 12, 2025
Time: 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Location: Tyndale University Chapel [map]

Light refreshments will follow the concert


Tickets: $35
More info: (416) 226-6620 ext. 6720 | events@tyndale.ca

Purchase Tickets

Support Students Through Spring in the Chapel

Tyndale continues to prepare students by enriching minds, hearts and character.

Spring in the Chapel is a benefit concert. Proceeds support Tyndale students through bursaries and the Tyndale Music Fund.

Make a Gift Today

Alumni Exclusive: Concert Lunch

Tyndale Alumni are invited to join us for lunch and concert for $40. For details and how to purchase tickets, please contact alumni@tyndale.ca or (416) 226-6620 ext.6721

The Alumni Exclusive: Concert & Lunch is sponsored by Deeks Insurance.

tyndale community choir

The Tyndale Community Choir

The Tyndale Community Choir (TCC) was founded in 2016 by Dr. Melissa Davis with a desire to unite Christian singers of various generations, cultures, and denominations throughout the Greater Toronto Area.

This dynamic 50-member multigenerational, multicultural, multidenominational mass choir has brought together Tyndale students, faculty, staff, and community members to serve Toronto's diverse population in music. Singing in concerts throughout the GTA, city-wide community events, worship services and university functions, the choir continues to spread the message of hope to all people.

The Tyndale singers

The Tyndale Singers

The Tyndale Singers, directed by Dr. Melissa Davis, is a vibrant ministry team of Tyndale University’s gifted student vocalists. Dedicated to the ministry of the Gospel in song both on and off campus, the ensemble enjoys singing for university functions, leading the Tyndale campus in worship for weekly Chapel services and singing for concerts, city-wide community events, and worship services throughout the GTA, bringing the light of Christ to all communities.

tyndale community choir

The TCC Band

Toronto musicians Dr. Joy Lee, Abigail Ali (BA 2021) and Wayne Thompson form the Tyndale Community Choir Band.

Each expressing unique gifting and a wealth of experience in music ministry, this gifted trio unites as a vibrant part of the TCC family.

DR. MELISSA DAVIS

DR. MELISSA DAVIS

Canadian Mezzo Soprano Melissa Davis is an active concert soloist, vocal professor, choral director, vocal clinician and worship leader.

Awarded the distinguished Krannert Debut Artist Award by the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, Illinois, Ms. Davis has guest soloed with Grammy and Juno-award-winning choirs and orchestras throughout North America including the Buffalo Philharmonic and Thunder Bay Symphony orchestras. She has toured internationally singing in concerts and productions in France, the UK, the Caribbean, the United States, and throughout Canada. Earning a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree from the University of Illinois, Dr. Davis has served as Director of the Music Department at Tyndale University, Professor of Voice at the University of Arkansas, and is currently Assistant Professor and Head of Vocal Performance at York University.

In 2015, Ms. Davis released her live solo debut album, City Called Heaven: An Evening of Songs and Spirituals, and in 2016, she became Founder, Artistic Director, and conductor of the 50-member Tyndale Community Choir, uniting Christian singers throughout the GTA. Dr. Davis has been vocal director of several theatre productions throughout North America and continues to receive numerous invitations to give vocal clinics, masterclasses, and lectures at national and international conferences.

Dedicated to the ministry of the Gospel through music, as a worship leader she continues to craft worship services that speak to multiethnic, multigenerational congregations.

DR. JOY LEE

DR. JOY LEE

Dr. Joy Lee is an accomplished Canadian pianist with a vibrant career as a collaborative pianist, teacher, voice coach, soloist, and adjudicator. Driven by her passion for music and education, she has performed at prestigious events, including the Canadian Embassy in Washington D.C. during President Barack Obama's inauguration celebration, the Banff Centre for the Arts, and venues across Canada’s Northwest Territories.

Dr. Lee holds a Bachelor and Master of Music in solo piano from the University of Toronto. Her love for vocal literature led her to earn a second Master’s in Collaborative Piano Studies at the University of Michigan and a Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Toronto.

As a Lecturer of Music and Worship Arts at Tyndale University, Dr. Lee inspires the next generation of musicians. A sought-after adjudicator, she has adjudicated competitions such as the OMFA Provincial Finals, Sudbury Music Festival, and Toronto Kiwanis Festival, with upcoming roles at the 2025 Peel Music Festival and ORMTA Eastern Zone competition.

Recognized for her artistry and exceptional collaborative skills, Dr. Lee was honored with the prestigious 2018 Gwendolyn Williams Koldofsky Prize. In 2017, she and soprano Maeve Palmer earned second prize at the renowned Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition, showcasing their outstanding partnership. In 2023, she made her Carnegie Hall debut as part of the Canada at Carnegie series and, alongside soprano Stéphanie McKay-Turgeon, was invited to perform works by French composer Henri Dutilleux at Maison Dutilleux-Joy in Candes-Saint-Martin, France.

Dr. Lee has served on the faculty of the University of Toronto Choral Conducting Symposium and collaborates with ensembles including the Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto, MacMillan Singers, Tyndale Singers and Tyndale Community Choir. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the North Toronto Songbirds, fostering community connections through the arts.

DR. KEN MICHELL

DR. KEN MICHELL

Dr. Ken Michell spent 12 years writing, recording, and touring internationally with the Canadian Christian band, the dustkickers. As a Tyndale University graduate (MTS 95), Ken went on to complete his Doctorate in Worship Studies (DWS) at Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies in Jacksonville, FL. 
 
Ken is Assistant Professor and Chair of the Music and Worship Arts Department at Tyndale University. Alongside applied courses in music theory, guitar instruction, song-writing and instrumental ensemble, Ken teaches courses in the Christian Ministry department on Christian Worship (Theology, History, and Contemporary Worship). 
 
Ken also serves as the Worship Director in his home church in Scarborough and is the co-founder and Vice-President of Christian Conservatory of Music, Canada (a graded music examination system that incorporates worship repertoire). 
 
Ken’s recent research, over the last five years, has been composing responsorial settings for over 50 psalms for personal and corporate worship participation.

SAJ McKENLEY

SAJ McKENLEY

Saj McKenley is a recording artist and vocalist based in Toronto. He’s been nominated for numerous music awards and was winner of the Canadian Covenant Award for Contemporary Gospel Song of the Year.  Saj has worked with several prominent musicians and producers on independent projects, the latest being his second album, Seasons of Love.

Today, Saj continues to perform locally with his band at private and corporate events. His music is available on all major streaming platforms.
 

JALESA WALKES (BA 2022)

JALESA WALKES (BA 2022)

For God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, love and of a sound mind” is more than just scripture - it is the recurring anthem of Jalesa’s story. Jalesa is a proud graduate of Tyndale University and is professionally known as Jai Symone.   

Her life models her gift: she is an experience of raw musical prowess, that audibly cares as much as she delivers. It is no wonder that the multitude of her gifts have catapulted her into recording sessions and sanctuaries large and small, sharing the stage with the likes of international artistes Travis Greene, Sinach, and many others.

At every level of life Jai showcases her versatility and innovative approach to presenting music that has a lasting effect on her multicultural, multi-generational audience. The name Jai Symone means "victorious when listening" and her prayer is that as she continues to listen to God and use her gift for the kingdom, that many lives would be changed thus making this entire journey a victorious one through Jesus Christ.
 

MUSIC AT TYNDALE

Music is an essential part of the Tyndale university community. The innovative BA in Music Performance and BA in Music Worship Arts programs offer outstanding music education where students are equipped with the skills and tools needed to succeed in performance, music and worship leadership, and music ministry.

In addition to participating in Tyndale’s various music ensembles (the Tyndale Community Choir, Tyndale Singers, Tyndale Band, and Tyndale Jazz Combo), undergraduate students can not only major in music, they also have the opportunity to add a Music and Worship Arts Minor.

With a diverse faculty of professional musicians, through these programs, students explore their gifting and refine their craft in music performance and leadership, through innovative courses, both individual and group training, mentorship, and performance and ministry opportunities.