The Choir in the Czech Republic

It's coming down to crunch time for Belle Canto as they will be leaving in 2 weeks for Italy!

I apologize in advance to any of my fellow choristers if participating choristers going to the Seghizzi competition are reading my posts... but I just can't help myself from divulging what has been going on behind-the-scenes here in Canada.

Amidst the chaos of rounding up folk costumes for one of the classes and trying to obtain pieces for additional "summer version" of our current uniform, we have been rehearsing and memorizing an intense load of music. We bumped up rehearsals to twice a week, there are individual sectionals during the other days in the week, and this past weekend there was even a Sewing Bee to make costume components. I can see the stress wearing on fellow choristers since they have to learn, memorize, and prioritize what to pack for this upcoming tour, especially with all these additional uniform components. Did I mention there are about 5 costume changes and choralography during the folk song set? Not full costume changes but the use of song-specific accessories during each piece.

What is choralography you ask? It's choir+choreography. Within Belle Canto, it's more of a way to describe non-semi-circle formation on the stage but in the past few competitions I've been in, I've definitely seen an increase in the integration of movement in choral pieces. I'm not sure if it's this pressure for choirs to "put on a show" when they perform now but I think it's something more conductors are considering now due to the demand to create an engaging performance. It occurs to varying degrees but I like to think of it as a blend between the predictability of gospel swaying and the campy intensity of show choirs.

Also, our music is definitely coming but I can't say that it has clicked quite yet. We're still figuring out notes in some places and rehearsing the lines continuously to feel how the music is supposed to fit together but it has yet to feel effortless. It's so nice when you learn music so well that you don't even have to think about the notes or words and you can just focus on creating a unified sound with the voices around you. That's when true music emerges.

In time, this will come, most likely while they're rehearsing before the competition in Italy, but in order to motivate the choir an ongoing joke has materialized where we keep on convincing ourselves that we have a choral enemy that resides in the Czech Republic. No offense to Czech choral singers (be flattered that we thought you were threatening enough to be our choral nemesis). Whenever rehearsals are going a bit too long or our patience is wearing short, one of us just has to say... "Think about the choir in the Czech Republic!"

We're tired and we need a break?

"Do you think the choir in the Czech Republic takes breaks?" we collectively ask ourselves.

"I don't think so!"

Of course, we do end up taking a break but it's always good to keep in perspective the competition Belle Canto will be facing once they are in Gorizia. It's easy to fall into a safe buffer where we convince ourselves that the competition is a far ways away from us. However, only two plane rides away and they'll be in the heart of the competition. They can't afford to slack off now and be reduced to complacency. This hypothetical Czech choir is exactly the kind of stressful stimulus Belle Canto needs in this critical period leading up to the competition. Only a musical stimulus can elicit change.

These final weeks leading up to the tour is a critical time for musical consolidation and it's time for Belle Canto to make these Czech choristers quiver in their church pews as they rehearse.

You know what would make this even better? If there actually is a Czech choir competing against Belle Canto! How awesome would it be to have a choral face-off?!?! Yes, my inner choir nerd emerges, as if you had any doubt that it existed :)

Until next time, take care!

I posted the details again for our pre-tour concert this coming Monday!
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Andiamo! Belle Canto Pre-Tour Concert

Date:	Monday, June 28, 2010
Time:	7:00pm - 9:30pm
Location:	Robertson-Wesley United Church
Street:	10209 123 St NW

In July, Belle Canto will compete in the 48th International Competition of Choral Singing Seghizzi 2010 in Gorizia, Italy. Choirs chosen for their prestigious international choral competition are judged by an international jury. The winning choirs then take part in the 22nd Grand Prix Seghizzi 2010.

Belle Canto will be competing in the Renaissance, Romantic, 20th Century, and Folk and Traditional Song categories with works by Monteverdi, Schumann, Weelkes, and Barber. Another highlight of Belle Canto's Italian tour will be to sing the Mass in St Mark's Cathedral in Venice.

Ticket Price:
$7 Student/Senior
$10 Adult

Tickets are available at the door and Tix on the Square

The Next Best Thing

Greetings readers!

I am happy to report that my bout of choral apathy has now subsided. Those were dark times when I was coming to terms with not going on tour with Belle Canto this July but now I just feel an overwhelming sense of calm towards the whole situation. It's also nice to not be apart of the frenzy of crazy that overtakes a choir before a tour where last minute decisions on uniform details and stress over how to pack all the uniform requirements emerge.

Everybody thought my last performance would be with the choir at the provincial music festival in early May. However, it actually killed me inside knowing that they would be rehearsing up until the time they left in July and I wouldn't be apart of it. Thus, I contacted my conductor to ask her permission to continue singing up until the pre-tour concert and she consented.

The rehearsal time that occurs before a choir leaves for a tour is an intensely unique time. It is rare to obtain the kind of musical focus and mental framework necessary for an international competition at other points in the year. Everybody is always focused on something else. It is only during the intensive rehearsal process before a tour where all the choristers in a choir collectively commit and you can hear the difference. Suddenly, music is being learned faster, the ensemble is beginning to click, and the connective energy that unites the voices is beginning to consolidate. Hearing the group get better with every rehearsal is reason enough for me to continue going to rehearsal. Plus, I enjoy experiencing the increased level of stress because it forces me to be a better chorister and it truly is the stimulus to bring about musical change. I definitely need a deadline when it comes to getting things done and though it is stressful to memorize numerous musical pieces before rehearsal... there isn't any other time in the year when I would be doing this.

People may think I may be wasting my time and putting myself through unnecessary emotional turmoil by emerging myself in an atmosphere that is buzzing around a music competition I cannot attend. I do not see it that way at all. I see this as an opportunity to increase my skills as a chorister, learn the musical to a level that is ready to use in competition, and feed off of the electrifying energy and anticipation that builds in the singers around me. This is an opportunity the only arrives every 3 years (since we only travel internationally every 3rd year) and the build-up to the competition is part of the competition itself. Just because I am not on stage with my choir doesn't mean that I wasn't capable enough to be with them. It's simply just a matter of timing and circumstance. Even if a chorister is vocally incapacitated before the performance and can't sing---they are still a member of the choir. That is how I see my situation.

Therefore, I will be singing with Belle Canto up until their pre-tour concert. It has been fun going along the same preparation road as the rest of them as they prepare for the tour but I will take my leave and say my farewell's at the concert in 2 weeks. If you are in Edmonton, you should come check it out because it will be an evening filled with excellent music!

Hope to see some of you there!

Until next time, take care!
__________________________________________________

Andiamo! Belle Canto Pre-Tour Concert

Date:	Monday, June 28, 2010
Time:	7:00pm - 9:30pm
Location:	Robertson-Wesley United Church
Street:	10209 123 St NW

In July, Belle Canto will compete in the 48th International Competition of Choral Singing Seghizzi 2010 in Gorizia, Italy. Choirs chosen for their prestigious international choral competition are judged by an international jury. The winning choirs then take part in the 22nd Grand Prix Seghizzi 2010.

Belle Canto will be competing in the Renaissance, Romantic, 20th Century, and Folk and Traditional Song categories with works by Monteverdi, Schumann, Weelkes, and Barber. Another highlight of Belle Canto's Italian tour will be to sing the Mass in St Mark's Cathedral in Venice.

Ticket Price:
$7 Student/Senior
$10 Adult

Tickets are available at the door and Tix on the Square
T • 780/420-1757