The amateur choral group was founded in 1925 by Jewish immigrant laborers,[2][3] and was originally called the Freiheith Gezangs Farein (Freedom Singing Society).
The choir continues to give an annual spring concert in Toronto and performs at various Jewish festivals and events.
The choir's early repertoire consisted largely of Yiddish and Hebrew folk songs,[5] operettas, and reflected a working class sentiment.
Under the leadership of Emil Gartner, it increased in size to 130 singers by the late 1940s, and its repertoire expanded to include Canadian folk songs as well as works by Handel, Mendelssohn, Schubert, and others.
[8] Among the well-known composers who have written works for the Choir are John Weinzweig, Louis Applebaum, Milton Barnes, Srul Irving Glick, Ben Steinberg and Leon Zuckert.