The Choir Girl

Choir Girl Debut with the Scona Singers

2012-01-16T01:05:00.000-07:00

Greetings readers!

Alas, my lack of posting is due more to a lapse in initiative rather than a lack of choral activity. Today I had the pleasure of having my choral debut with the Scona Chamber Singers for their "Music of the Sistine Chapel" concert. It was a concert of Renaissance music by Gregorio Allegri, Palestrina, Anerio and Josquin des Prez. It was quite a treat actually since I usually only sing early music in choir when it's part of some kind of repertoire requirement at a music festival or concert, other than that, my experience with it is minimal. Which is unfortunate since I love the flowing lines, tensile dissonances, and clean end chords.

We started rehearsals last Friday and it was a bit challenging to jump back into an intensive choral schedule after the holidays. I found that my brain was mixing a lot of the pieces together because they were similar and it's hard to get context for a piece when you're just rehearsing individual lines. However, by Wednesday, as the music was becoming more solidified, I felt that it was beginning to feel more effortless. But as our conductor, John Brough, said to us, it's easy to just stop paying attention in early music and then you suddenly get caught off guard by an unexpected accidental. Other than the fact there were a few concert blips and some tuning issues, I felt like the concert was well-executed and, overall, just fun to sing. It had good flow and there were nice subsets of diversity in the individual musical movements even though it was all Renaissance music. I think my favorite pieces in the program were Allegri's "Gloria" & "Credo" movements and Allegri's "Miserere mei, Deus." Singing pieces like "Miserere mei, Deus" makes me wish I was born a monk so I could just sing awesome chant music all day in cathedrals. Plus, I would get to rock the strappy sandal look all-year-round.

Mentioning the aspect of fashion, the Scona ladies all wear their own gowns for performances. Which introduced an interesting variable for me since I do not own any gowns. Vibrant cocktail dresses and an old prom gown? ---yes. Formal performance gowns? ---no. Since I don't perform solo voice recitals, I haven't had the opportunity to accumulate an array performance-wear. Thus, I checked the only place I could think of for uniform aid--- my mother's closet. I found an own navy gown my mother wore last year at a wedding reception. I tried it on. A bit roomy but in a comfortable way since I actually had room to breath in the torso area. Excellent. It was one last thing I had to worry about for the concert. The Scona ladies seemed impressed that I was able to overlap closets with my mother. I was just glad I didn't have to invest in a gown which I would only wear once.

Overall, I had a fantastic debut experience with Scona Singers. As well, it was so much fun to sing with one of my choral soulmates, Dawn Bailey, again. She was back in town to sing with the Scona Singers and she also had her own recital the Friday before the concert. Dawn resides in Montreal now as a freelance singer and yoga teacher so it was great opportunity to catch up with her since she usually only visits Edmonton once or twice a year.

If you're interested in early music, I'd also recommend you visit the Early Music Alberta website, which is an organization which promotes early music performance and education by offering events such as concerts, masterclasses, and an early music festival.

Until next time readers, take care!

Choral Speech Pathology

2012-01-06T20:50:00.000-07:00

An acoustic sample of "Silent Night"

Greetings readers,

I primarily discuss my choral experiences here on this blog, however, I rarely speak about the other dominant area of my life: Speech-Language Pathology (S-LP). In my program, you have the option to choose either a group project or an individual thesis and you need to decide, within the first month, which route you're going to take. Therefore, it's quite a significant program-altering choice. The department held a "research fair" where all of our faculty presented the projects which they were offering that year: studies involving fMRI neuroimaging to look at language processing in the brain, studies investigating the potential of noise-induced hearing loss from high iPod listening levels while exercising, looking at developmental language and vocabulary inventory of children with cerebral palsy... although they were all interesting in their own way... none of them really appealed to me. I knew that I would either choose a project that seemed straight-forward just to get it finished or develop my own thesis project. Since I have never been one to choose the path of least resistance, I chose the latter option. I rationalized that if I am going to spend two years on something--- I better enjoy it.

A year before entering the program, I remembered hearing about an S-LP, Merrill Tanner, from a fellow chorister's parent during a reception. Tanner was known to utilize singing techniques in her S-LP therapy practice. While I was contemplating project options, I googled her name and discovered that she was working on her PhD with the voice disorders professor in our department. I immediately arranged to meet with this professor. I didn't know what to expect when I walked into my soon-to-be-supervisor's office. At that point, I had already visited at least six other professors discussing their thesis projects but I didn't feel moved to accept any of them. This voice professor was interested to hear about my journey which led me to Tanner's research and said that I could formulate a project that that united my two interests. As well, she knew of a set of unanalyzed data from a study in 2004 where persons with Parkinson's Disease had singing lessons with a music professor. A variety of measures were taken but the data was never analyzed. Five years later, there I was, an eager new graduate student who was willing to take on the analysis job. I spent a good two years designing a standardized analysis method and then analyzing the data.

Within Parkinson Disease, the main voice symptoms that occur are decreased loudness levels, weak and imprecise articulation, and a fast or "blurred" speech rate. Therefore, it can be hard to understand the speech of people with Parkinson's Disease. The implication of this is that a decreased ability to communicate effectively with others can lead to a gradual disengagement with others and with life in general. The muscular system in persons with Parkinson's is extremely rigid, which means that the respiratory, voice, and even facial muscles are stiff and aren't used to their full capacity or range. There's support for therapy practices which engage these muscular systems. Currently, the gold standard of Parkinson's voice therapy is called the "Lee Silverman Voice Treatment" (LSVT), which involves sitting in a room two times a day and holding the word "ah" at a comfortable pitch and volume for as long as a client can and doing this drill 15 times in a row, as well as other voice drills for an hour. While LSVT has great outcomes after 4 weeks, it's arguably not the most holistic or enjoyable way to spend a treatment session. That's why there has been an interest in relating Parkinson's voice therapy back to music since it still trains the same muscular systems as LSVT, however, the tasks are within an enjoyable musical context. Tanner's PhD work has already been noting the positive changes seen in patients participating in singing therapies and the results from my thesis show the same positive trend as well (which I'm excited to be presenting in a poster at the CASLPA conference in May 2012!). There's an argument for the fact that singing/choral voice treatment is a much more accessible (you can almost always find a choir in any rural or urban setting but you can't always find a LSVT certified S-LP) and a lower-cost therapy option for persons with Parkinson's.

I hope my previous paragraphs provided some context for the other things that are on my mind when I'm not singing in choirs. Below is a video of Tanner's research and an interview with some of her current Parkinson participants.

Until next time, take care readers!

A Choir Girl Year In Review

2011-12-30T21:34:00.001-07:00

Greetings readers,

It is nearing the end of the 2011 year! Thus, it's time for some cyber self-reflection. It's nice having a blog because it serves as a comprehensive timeline of my choral activities throughout the year.

Pro Coro

I began this year as a substitute member and managed to become a core member by the end of the year. I must say, it's not a bad musical progression! It's amazing what happens when timing and determination aligns :) Some particularly memorable Pro Coro concerts for me were the Space concert, the Easter performance of Bach's St. John's Passion, and the three concerts with the Pro Coro artistic director candidates: Solomon, Bailey, and Zaugg. Strangely enough, I wrote two posts on the aspect of full-voice singing in Pro Coro. Once when Gervais was conducting the choir in March and again with Zaugg in November. Hopefully this is an area that Pro Coro continues to explore in the new year. I'm also looking forward to the announcement of the new artistic director. It signals the start of a refreshing and exciting change for the choir.

Belle Canto

Some memorable performance with the ladies this year included putting on the concert version of "Les Miserables." I got to be a lady-of-the-night. Actually, since we're putting on the Oliver musical this coming February, I get to play a different lady-of-the-night: a bar wench. I must say, the diversity of female chorus roles does not look promising. As well, Belle Canto had the opportunity to work with Simon Carrington when he visited Edmonton last March. It was interesting to get some group coaching with him as he worked with Belle Canto and Chorale St. Jean. Other than that, the Belle Canto year has been pretty formulaic: weekend retreat, music festival, Spring concert, the Dessert auction, & Christmas caroling. However, there were some awards in the Cantilon family since Belle Canto was awarded first place in the CBC Choral Competition this year and the Cantilon Chamber Choir (the choir of my teen years) toured to Wales won first place in the Youth Choirs category. I'm looking forward to Belle Canto's tour to Ottawa this May to sing at Podium 2012. If you're going to be there, let me know, I'm hoping hear as many choirs as possible and go on a blogging blitz.

Miscellaneous

The release of Virtual Choir 2.0 arrived in April 2011. I finally got to see the efforts of my four submitted videos (S1, S2, A1, A2). The Virtual Choir 3.0 project has been released and video entries are due January 31, 2012, I don't know if I'll have the time to make four videos this time around. I'll have to see...

In August 2011, I was also greatly saddened by the news of a fellow chorister, Suzanne Abele, who passed away unexpectedly during a University fieldwork accident. She will be sorely missed by the Edmonton choral community. I just feel honoured that she was a blog follower and that I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to sing with her.

The summer was also filled with excellent music festivals: the Edmonton Folk Music Festival and the Symphony Under the Sky Festival. They composed some of my favorite weekends in the entire year. During Folk Fest, I got to hear some fantastic music from Jeremy Fisher and Del Barber and I even participated in my first lantern parade. At the Symphony Under the Sky Festival, I attended a majority of the concerts--- being in the park and listening to the symphony--- a perfect way to enjoy a summer evening. As well, I had the chance to participate in an electroacoustic caroling event known as Unsilent Night since Edmonton hosted it for the first time this year.

Overall, 2011 was an extremely productive and eventful year! I'm expecting more of the same in 2012 as I'm auditioning for some new musical projects. I'll keep you posted :)

Until next year readers, take care!

Therapeutic Music

2011-12-20T19:30:00.000-07:00

Greetings readers,

I think the holiday season has the tendency to bring out the best and worst of feelings. It's a time where we enjoy the company of new friends and reunite with old friends, but it's also a time where we remember those who are no longer with us in our lives. I've been doing a lot of caroling gigs this season, and if I have to pick a favorite, yet most difficult, it was definitely singing for a seniors home in St. Albert.

I have a close connection to extended care facilities since my Grandmother lived in one for few years before she passed away during the Christmas season three years ago. Prior to her departure, my choir friends and I would arrange a caroling-filled day where we would travel to different locations around the city to sing to those close to us. One year we made a stop to visit my Grandmother in her nursing home. While she wasn't always totally conscious of the fact that I was there to sing to her, it made me feel better to know that I was sharing something that was very important to me with her. Music is just as therapeutic for those listening and those who are providing it. Thus, singing in nursing homes is an emotionally loaded experience for me. However, I think it's important to feel vulnerable sometimes and take a risk by entering into situations where we don't have total control.

The caroling gig in St. Albert was definitely entering into that territory for me, but it turned out great. They were such an appreciative audience to sing for and they were so attentive during our set. It felt more like a concert than a gig where we happened to be the background music. While we were singing "Silent Night," most of the audience members were joining in with us, and as I looked around at the vocalic mouths of the people, all I could think of was: "wow, senior's choirs--- this is a format that has fantastic therapeutic potential!" (You can totally tell I'm a Rehab Med student from that statement). They can strengthen their bowing vocal folds by engaging in voice exercises but also engage in all of the holistic aspects of being in a musical group. While I know that this is definitely not a novel idea, I think that all senior facilities should have musical recreation programs. One thing I learned from my program is that to age well, you need to stay engaged in life activities, and what better way than to be in a choir? Even though the holidays causes latent emotions to resurface, it's also exciting to see the hope and promise the season can bring as well.

Until next time, take care readers!

Christmas with Pro Coro & Da Camera

2011-12-18T20:47:00.001-07:00

Greetings readers & happy holidays,

I hope you've all been enjoying the holiday season! As you probably have noticed, it's been a while since I've posted. It's not due to a lack of activity, moreso, I've just been busy with life commitments. In between finishing up my clinical practicum, incorporating thesis edits, caroling gigs, and Christmas concerts--- I haven't had much time to dedicate to blogging. I will attempt to remedy that this holiday break by composing posts from topics I have backlogged on my iPhone reminders.

I will start by detailing the Pro Coro concert which was presented jointly with the Da Camera Singers this afternoon. The Royal Canadian Artillery Band, organist, Jeremy Spurgeon, and cellist, Josephine Van Lier joined the choirs for this performance as well. Da Camera is a fantastic chamber group led by, Dr. John Brough, who also happens to be a tenor in Pro Coro as well. The concert was a mix of individual and mass choir performances with Pro Coro and Da Camera. Pro Coro performed Schütz's "Weinachtshistorie," which featured some solo work by members in the choir. In the first half of the concert the choirs jointly performed Sweelinck's, "Gaudete Omnes," and Gabrieli's "Angelus ad Pastores Ait" and "Hodie Christus Natus Est" together. It was refreshing to sing some early music with 60 voices surrounding me. I'm not used to large choir singing. I felt so powerful!

Overall, I felt like the concert had great flow and diversity. We had a lot of different standing configurations, and while it took time to block everything at our dress rehearsal, everything moved smoothly during the performance. In terms of the repertoire, we had some audience accessible favorites such as "Ding Dong Merrily on High" "Good Kind Wenceslas," Preatorious' "Lo, How a Rose e're Blooming," "12 days of Christmas" and "Jingle Bells." I think my personal favorite was Mealor's "Ubi Caritas," there were moments when my ears were ringing with the glorious dissonance filling the hall. Da Camera performed Martin's "Ave Verum," King's "There is no rose," and Stopford's "Lully Lulla." The "Lully Lulla" was absolutely gorgeous. While I felt like the piece could have been composed with two less phrase repetitions, there were moments where it was so beautiful you felt like crying inside. I'm not sure if it's due to my personality, since I tend to internalize more than externalize, but that's how I describe moving music :)

At any rate, it was a enjoyable concert and a great way for me to finish off my choral commitments for the year. I hope you all have been able to take in or be a part of some excellent music-making this Christmas season!

Until next time readers, take care!

Christmas Bureau Sing-A-Long

2011-12-12T22:55:00.003-07:00

Greetings readers!

It's time for the annual Christmas Bureau Caroling Sing-A-Long! Every year, the Christmas Bureau raises funds to provide Christmas meals to families in need. If you are in Edmonton and are free from 12-1 pm on Friday, December 16, 2011 you can attend the sing-along at the Winspear Centre.

The event includes choristers from all throughout the Edmonton choral community in the choir loft and the audience can sing-a-long with the choristers. Unfortunately, I won't be able to make it this year (it's the the first time I haven't been able to sing in it for a very long time!) but I would highly recommend going since it's a festive event for a great cause. Plus, there are a ton of Christmas sweaters to behold. My favorite! Admission to the event is free and donations for the Christmas Bureau will be accepted from 11:15-2 PM.

Happy caroling!

Until next time readers, take care!

Unsilent Night Edmonton

2011-12-11T22:46:00.001-07:00

Photo credit: Caitlin Smith

Greetings readers,

Tonight I had the chance to be a part of an outdoor electroacoustic soundscape event called "Unsilent Night." In 1992, Phil Kline, wanted to create a public work of art in the form of a holiday carolling party so he composed four 45 minute electroacoustic music tracks which, when they are played simultaneously, form the piece "Unsilent Night." The music is carried through the streets creating a traveling Christmas soundscape. It was very cool. Everybody downloaded the music track, brought a boombox or external speakers for their mp3 players, we hit play, then we started on a promenade through the streets of Edmonton. It was the first time Edmonton has hosted this event (thanks Leanne!) and we had a turnout of 20 enthusiastic individuals.

The most interesting part was hearing the different movements of the piece coming from all the individual speakers. While one stereo had a drone portion, another would have a melodic line with twinkling bells and another would have a chant-like choral line. My stereo just so happened to have the choral line. It was neat to see people's reactions as we walked past. There were lots of waves from people sitting inside restaurants and people on the street with quizzical looks as they walked through our group and were enveloped in our sound.

Photo credit: Caitlin Smith

When we finished our walk from the University to the Old Strathcona gazebo, we placed all of our stereos on the ledge facing in and enjoyed the last few minutes of the piece as we stood in the center. It was a fun evening with new and old friends and some fantastic music. I'm looking forward to next year's event already.

Until next time, take care readers!

Photo credit: Caitlin Smith

Here is a video from an "Unsilent Night" event in Oxford last year:

Singing with Family

2011-11-25T23:00:00.001-07:00

Greetings readers!

Another Dessert Auction fundraiser has come and gone and it made me reflect on an interesting fact: It is so hard to leave a choir. Especially a choir or a choir program that you've grown up with. There I was, watching the Cantilon Chamber Choir, the treble choir of my adolescence. In addition to the fact that a choir parent came up to me and asked, "which one [was mine]?" I had a major déjà vu moment--- seeing new faces in the same familiar uniforms, singing the same familiar songs, in the same familiar lobby setting. The faces I know now are not in the Chamber Choir, but in the adult women's choir of the program, Belle Canto. Over the years, many of us have filtered down into Belle Canto. All those years of carpooling, music festivals, music camps, caroling gigs, retreats, workshops, tours and rehearsals with fellow choristers... they've unknowingly become my second family. Though I've been musically spoiled by being in Pro Coro and singing such a high calibre of music with professional singers... it's hard for me to imagine ever leaving my original choir family. Is it holding me back from other opportunities? Perhaps. I did turn down a opportunity to be a choir ringer this year because it conflicted with Belle Canto's Monday night rehearsals. But I suppose it just comes down to the fact that all I want to do is sing. And I want to sing with my family.

I love how singing experiences with Pro Coro have made me a better singer. The continuous challenge that Pro Coro offers is infectious and feeds the irrationally driven side of my character. However, singing in Belle Canto is just good for my soul. I like seeing the ladies every week at rehearsal, catching up on weekly news, helping myself to gourmet cheese platters, and hearing the dirty innuendos from a (unnamed) chorister in the back row in response to ambiguous conductor statements. Choir life is good. Sure, we don't have the musical polish of a professional choir, but that isn't what we are at our very core. I suppose that's the thing with any family, everybody has their individual quirks but you love them just the way they are. While there may be a time in the future when I may need to move to a different city to pursue different opportunities, until that time arrives, I will continue enjoying the present with my choir family.

Until next time readers, send some love to your choir family, and take care!

The Waiting Period

2011-11-22T18:31:00.000-07:00

Greetings readers!

Have you been waiting with bated breath regarding news of Pro Coro's next artistic director? Well, you'll just wait a little longer since the selection committee will be meeting later this week. Next week, I'll post more on my personal thoughts about each of the candidates. Out of respect for the selection committee (and to keep my inherent bias under control), I'll keep my personal choice confidential for now. I know I probably haven't been doing the best job with my rather detailed blog posts, but oh well, it's a grey line with how much information I should and shouldn't share. While I want to show respect to the selection committee, I also believe that I should be able to write whatever I want on this blog since my personal thoughts are mine to share.

I will remark on the concert itself: It went really well! Although the performance did have its glitches, some occasionally questionable notes, minor tuning issues, and some textual mix-ups, overall, I felt that the entire concert was solid and emotionally moving. I could hear people singing out with their full voice around me--- we were taking risks and it was paying off. If we're not taking risks then, clearly, we're not challenging ourselves as musicians. Zaugg was providing positive reinforcement throughout the entire performance and was giving off this tuned-into-the-music but zoned-out-of-reality kind of vibe. That is always a good sign. I felt that the choir was really connected to Zaugg and that we were working collaboratively with him to musically emote what he was showing us. He forewarned us in rehearsals that the things we were practicing would not be the same on the day of the performance. Since nothing was over-rehearsed, it allowed us the flexibility to provide an organic performance. We just worked the music to a secure level and Zaugg took us the rest of the way during the concert. As a result, there were stunning and musically self-indulgent moments in Elgar's Lux Aeterna and Talbot's "Santiago."

One thing that was really refreshing was that, during the performance, Zaugg would look at individual singers and cue them to sing out more. This is exactly what it was like during the rehearsal process and it was nice to continue to get that individualized cue during the concert itself. It's hard to know what the choir sounds like as a whole from a choristers' acoustic perspective so it's appreciated when we can get such specific online feedback while we are singing. With other conductors, it's more generalized gestural desires like adding a crescendo here or there, but Zaugg focuses in on exactly who and what he wants.

When we processed off of the stage during the final movement of Talbot's "Santiago" (mimicking the wandering path of the people on their pilgrimage), Zaugg closed his binder and gave a nod to us in thanks before he stepped off to the side to let us process off the stage. I wished we could have given a nod back in thanks but we had to keep singing. I was one of the last ladies to exit and in order to achieve the far-away sound we exited from the top of the stage and walked along the upper hallway into the church kitchen, while continuing to sing, and closed the door behind us, as if we were disappearing behind the hills of Santiago. It was technically crude but acoustically effective.

In summary, it was a fantastic concert! We were greeted with a standing ovation when we returned to the stage after our choral pilgrimage. Thinking back to the previous Friday when we met Zaugg for the first time, I felt like we had come a long way with the music and as musicians as well. There was a level of trust established in those 10 days. As Zaugg said himself before the concert, he began with a marriage proposal in the first rehearsal, and by the concert, we were having a night out on the town! Clearly, he knows how to show a choir a good time because we definitely stuck around :)

So until next time, take care readers and hopefully there will be more news regarding the choice for Pro Coro's next artistic conductor!

Let Singers Sing

2011-11-16T22:56:00.001-07:00

Greetings readers,

I always feel like there's an exponential learning curve when I start a new set of Pro Coro rehearsals. At the first rehearsal, I sing hesitantly for fear of my guaranteed-to-be-present wrong notes sticking out. I had to get over myself pretty quickly this time around because you can't sing with full sound when you're being hesistant. By Sunday, I was feeling good, note inhibition was dissipating, I was allowing myself to sing out, others were as well too. As a result, Pro Coro's sound really began to open up. Perhaps Zaugg's previous choir marriage proposal wasn't too premature? I felt like the choir was definitely acknowledging the potential in the relationship instead of being wary at how fast things were moving.

Tonight's rehearsal was remarkable because I didn't know Pro Coro could sound the way it did. During some moments, I just thought to myself, "why don't all choirs sound like this all the time?!?!?" While I'm used to singing with full voice in other choirs, in those groups I've felt that our sound was hard to manage because of varied musicial skills. What happens is that we release our individual reservoir of sound without controlling quality. Thus, loud sounds don't have body and soft sounds don't have intensity. Vocal tone is sacrificed in order to meet dynamic requirements. For budding singers, this fine level of vocal control is difficult to master. Even I'm still experimenting with how much of my voice I can use while maintaining the quintessential core of my sound. Ultimately, everybody should be able to sing with their full voice. Some people believe that vocal soloists can't sing in choir. Clearly, they haven't sung in the right choir. If we are being told to be more quiet or blend with the person next to us... then something is wrong. Sound assimilation is the easy way out. Any choir can sound hooty and whitewashed. It's easy enough to match somebody's sound, but if that's not our voice, then why are we even singing?

With the way Pro Coro is sounding now, it feels like what I'm used to but the resulting choral sound is amplified because of the professional caliber of the singers. It really comes down to the fact that Zaugg lets his singers sing. As Zaugg described, with the right framework in place (intonation, diction, dynamics, and articulation), you can contain core sound. Brassy voice timbre, bright sound, warm color, clean tone, full vibrato etc... all these voice qualities have a role to play because the summation of all these individual variables produces the collective voice of the choir. It also doesn't hurt that Zaugg has the ears and skill to mould the sound that results.

Tonight's rehearsal was the first time I heard Pro Coro's true voice. It's extremely exciting! Needless to say, this coming Sunday concert is not to be missed. There are more concert details at this link.

Until next time readers, take care and sing out! You all have a voice and it deserves to be heard.

The Halfway Point

2011-11-13T20:23:00.001-07:00

Greetings readers!

Pro Coro is on the hunt for a new artistic director and we're at the rehearsal halfway point with Michael Zaugg. When Zaugg introduced himself at the first rehearsal, he likened his brief rehearsal period with us to the social scenario of speed dating. We were there to get to know him, he was there to get to know us... and who knows, maybe marriage is in our future? While that initial proposition felt a bit premature, I'm all for keeping options open. I appreciated his accurate comparison and for calling the rehearsal process out on exactly what it is... a potentially awkward situation. He did break the ice nicely by shocking us with the fact that he knew everybody's name when he wowed us with his naming skills. A conductor who did his homework---impressive.

During the first rehearsal, I felt apprehensive to say the least. Mostly because there was an unexpected shift in the number of voices on certain parts. Thus, my neighbor and I did some last minute division of lines to cover a missing part which resulted in some sightreading. There have also been some moments of: "wow, I'm the only one on my part..." which is a mental thought that has been resurfacing for me over the past few rehearsals. Overall, not a problem but definitely an unexpected variable. During most of the rehearsals I think Pro Coro has been trying to get a read on what Zaugg's style is like. Should we sing more or less? What kind of sound does he like? Is that a glimmer of satisfaction or disgust in his eyes in response to how we sang that line? Oh no, do you think he even likes us?!?! Ah, the initially self-conscious thoughts in any budding relationship.

All I know so far is that while Zaugg doesn't always facially express what he is thinking all the time, he is extremely articulate and will verbally express and vocally demonstrate exactly what he wants. He also has a pair of very finely tuned ears so he is able to identify people by name when he hears an incongruency in the choral sound. Terrifying in a way, but since it is delivered with the intent of musical betterment, it makes the rehearsal process much more efficient. Clearly, it is a signal that we're getting more comfortable working together. As a result, today I could hear Pro Coro's sound opening up during rehearsal.

The repertoire for Sunday's concert all revolves around different "paths of wonder," whether it is ascension into a heavenly realm or a pilgrimage to a sacred land. All I can say about the music is that I'm a huge fan of the overall repertoire sound. "Die Erste Elegie" by Rautavaara starts with a lovely pulsating melodic dissonance, "Auringon Noustessa" by Kuula indulges my passion for the Finnish language (which stems from my love for Finnish a capella group, Rajaton) so I'm enjoying rolling my r's and moving through the individual vowels in my diphthongs. There are also some soaringly gorgeous solos in Boulanger's "Soir Sur La Plaine" amongst the chromatic choral lines. Furthermore, there is a choral setting of "Lux Aeterna" by Elgar with vocal lines mimicking the tensile strength of string instruments and Whitacre's "Lux Aurumque." The latter is a a piece I've wanted to perform since I've heard the first virtual choir (although I did not participate in the first virtual choir, I made up for it by submitting videos for the second virtual choir performance of "Sleep" a process which I documented in a series of blog posts). The most dense work of the program is Talbot's "Santiago" movement which is a part of the larger "Path of Miracles" set. All I can say about this piece is that I've been waiting a long time to sing something like this. It is epic. Also on the program are pieces by Łukaszewski, Gabrieli, Bach, and Brahms.

Pro Coro's concert with Zaugg is on November 20, 2011 @ 2:30 pm at McDougall United Church. You can find more information on tickets at this link.

Until next time, take care readers!

Symphony Night Out

2011-11-13T00:58:00.001-07:00

Greetings readers!

Tonight I attended the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra's Masters concert which showcased the talents of the ESO in addition to Jens Lindemann and the Richard Eaton Singers. The concert was dedicated to the late Dr. Malcolm Forsyth. The ESO in conjunction with the National Arts Centre Orchestra co-commissioned "A Ballad of Canada" by Forsyth.

As much as I wanted to like, "A Ballad of Canada," since it was performed in memory of Forsyth tonight, it definitely wasn't my top pick for the evening. It just felt like the piece wasn't settled. It was a combination to Eddins' unaccommodating gestures to the choir and the choirs' vocal hesitation in trying to deliver what he wasn't cueing. I just felt like there was a breakdown in the conductor and choir relationship and it resulted in circumstances that didn't make for a stellar performance. As for the music itself, it had some cool percussion artillery sound effects, especially in the "Flanders Fields" movement.

The show-stopping piece for the evening was definitely the world premiere of Meechan's orchestral version of "Apophenia." The soloist for this piece was Jens Lindemann who had four types of trumpets which he used throughout the entire piece: a trumpet, a cornet, a flugelhorn, and a high E flat trumpet. It was stellar hearing the different brassy sound textures throughout the entire piece. Lindemann was definitely showcasing the sound extremes that could be created on each of these instruments, from the mellow sounding flugelhorn to the high E flat trumpet and its brassy belts that ripped through the concert hall. The piece had movements with laid-back jazzy vibes to a rock-and-roll section with a killer drum solo as well. I enjoy watching a classy tuxedo-wearing man tearing it up on a drum set. The ESO also performed Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2 in E minor. It is a gorgeous piece with a moving melodic third movement, however, I felt like I reached listening saturation about 20 minutes into the 54 minute piece. Clearly, I need to build up my listening stamina!

Overall, I had a great night out at the Symphony! I saw lots of familiar faces in the audience as well as on stage and got to hear some new music as well.

Until next time, take care readers!

P.S. I'll have Pro Coro updates soon as well.

Dedicated to Malcolm Forsyth

2011-11-11T13:10:00.001-07:00

Greetings readers!

This will just be a short update with two segments of news:

1. I am starting a new block of Pro Coro rehearsals this evening with last artistic conductor candidate, Michael Zaugg.

2. I will be attending the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra performance that is dedicated to the late Malcolm Forsyth tomorrow evening. Forsyth was a prominent Canadian composer who passed away this year in Edmonton and his work, "A Ballad of Canada," will have its premiere in Edmonton in recognition of his 75th birthday on December 11, 2011. For more information on Forsyth, check out the 3-part podcast interview with local composers Allan Gordon Bell and Allan Gilliand regarding their relationship with Forsyth on the ESO blog. Also on the program is Rachminoff's Symphony No. 2 in E minor and Meechan's "Apophenia." Other artists at this concert include Jens Lindemann on trumpet and the Richard Eaton Singers. There is a performance November 11, 2011 and Novebmer 12, 2011 so check out the website for more ticket information.

I will have more updates from these two events posted soon!

Until then, have a lovely long weekend if you are celebrating Remembrance Day weekend!

Connecting

2011-10-23T21:38:00.005-06:00

Greetings readers,

The concert with Pro Coro artistic director, Mark Bailey, finished this afternoon and I'm still buzzing from the experience. As I did with Magen Solomon, I will reserve my thoughts about Bailey specifically until I have finished performing with the final candidate, Michael Zaugg in November. However, I will remark about the concert itself.

The concert was structured around "musical dialogues." Musical dialogues between the different choir formations, the men and the women, the choir and the instrumentalists, and between the choir and soloists. The cohesive structure of the concert program made a lot of sense to me and the concert moved chronologically from early music works by Gesauldo to Bach, Brahms, Rachmaninoff, and finally, the Evening Liturgy chants which were arranged last year by the late Maia Aprahamian.

The Gesauldo was done in an interesting arrangement since the choir was divided into three smaller ensembles to perform each of the motets. As well, the different groups were situated in different spots around the church. In my own Gesauldo group, we had a bit of a shaky start since there was some trouble with settling the initial chords. However, once we settled into the new (albeit lower) key, things seemed to move smoothly enough. My brain was trying to adjust to the new tonality so I wasn't able to employ as many musical nuances but I'm just glad it held together. Bach's "Komm, Jesu, Komm" was lovely and was sung with musical sensitivity. Although it is a test piece and will be performed with each of the candidates, it felt new to me while preparing for this concert. Vedel's Choral Concerto no. 9 was opulent and powerful. I totally felt Ukrainian while singing it. I'm also glad to report I did not butcher my short solo duet section. It was kind of scary since there's a run in the section and my duet partner and I were never sure what speed would be established by the time the solo arrived.

The second half of the concert started with some lovely Brahms quartets, the men sang a gorgeous Poulenc with a stunning baritone solo in the fourth movement. The Rachmininoff showcased the romantic and grand keyboard abilities of Jeremy Spurgeon. In a way, you almost don't even need the choir in these pieces because the piano portions are so gorgeous.

By far the most magical moment occurred during the performance of the Evening Liturgy, which is a set of three chants, by Maia Aprahamian. Bailey explained to us his close relationship to Maia and that while she was working on this piece last year, she would often send him drafts to get his thoughts. She sent him the final version in March but passed away unexpectedly this past summer so her piece has never been sung and, furthermore, Bailey has the only copy. I remember when we ran it in rehearsal, I just thought that the chants were beautiful in their simplicity. Not to mention that they sat really well in my voice. However, after we sang the second movement "Holy God" in the concert, Bailey took a break in the concert to pick up the microphone to explain that Maia's intent with this piece was to have it sung by the audience, like a congregation, and interact with the choir. Thus, the audience learned the melody by echoing Pro Coro's model and Bailey prepared to do the piece again. This time with the audience. This was completely unexpected. At no point during the rehearsal process did Bailey mention an audience participation component. However, as soon as I heard the audiences' voice join Pro Coro's... it was a transcendental moment. I rarely have moments like that when I'm singing... but today it felt like the music served as a medium to connect with Maia. As well, during the "Cherubic Hymn," which was the final movement, sunlight emerged from the corner window of the church and illuminated the church. It just felt like we were connecting in the most profound way with something that we couldn't see, but could sense, and it was an honour to be a part of the process. I think the audience would agree that there was something absolutely magical in the air during Maia's piece.

Overall, I'll be buzzing from this performance for a while still! Musical highs are the best drug. It will be a few weeks now before the arrival of the last Pro Coro artistic candidate conductor, Michael Zaugg. I'm looking forward to it!

Until then, take care readers!

Musical Dialogues

2011-10-16T18:50:00.000-06:00

Greetings readers!

I've started another block of rehearsals for Pro Coro and this time we have second artistic director candidate, Mark Bailey, leading us. I'm not sure what it is about this time around, but I feel a lot calmer than preparing for Pro Coro concerts in the past. I think it's because I am familiar with two songs in the repertoire so I am feeding off of a small amount of confidence. However, the pieces that Bailey has chosen are very enjoyable to sing and aren't so challenging to the extent that I feel continuously anxious throughout the entire piece.

Of course, I definitely still had some internal panic moments, such as, "how is everybody singing fluent Russian!?!?!?"... before I noticed the transliteration symbols beneath the text and "where is the pulse!?!?! is this in 2 or 4?!?!" during a small ensemble piece by Gesauldo. The Ukrainian piece by Vedel, "Sacred Choral Concerto no. 9" is definitely the power piece of the program and there are tons of mini solos within the piece (including my first solo duet within Pro Coro). We're singing Bach's "Komm, Jesu, komm" again, which we will be doing with each of the candidates, but this time we switched the Choir one and two designations so we are singing different parts. There are also a couple of lovely Rachmaninoff pieces ("Night," "Captivity," and "Angel") that the ladies of Pro Coro will be singing and the men will be performing Poulenc's "Quatre petities prieres de Saint Francois d'Assise" as well. There's some gorgeous Brahms pieces: "Der Gang zum Liebchen," "Der Abend", and "Neckereien," two of which I have sung with the Madrigal Singers. A late thank-you to MAD's conductor, Len!

Neckereien is one of my favorite mixed choir pieces because the song just cues such hilarious memories from when I was in Madrigal Singers. The song revolves around the basses and tenors courting the ladies (altos and sopranos)--- they profess how they're going to make the ladies their wives etc., and the ladies are adamant that that is not going to happen. As a fellow chorister mentioned to me, it's the 21st century scenario of the creepy guy at the bar who won't leave the ladies alone. It's mostly funny since there are so many romantic and pleading lines from the men, which the ladies don't reciprocate. I'm not sure what this says about me, personally, but it really is quite an entertaining piece. Rounding out the program is another Bach as well as a Tallis piece. Overall, I have to say that the repertoire load is quite manageable.

I also really enjoy how Bailey always takes time to describe the music and its cultural context. I like how it feels like I'm in a musiciology lecture but I am able to try out the techniques and experiment with the music immediately after he describes it. It's a nice holistic approach to learning music.

I am looking forward to the rest of the rehearsals this week and the Sunday, October 23, 2011 afternoon concert we're working towards. For more information on tickets check out this link.

Until next time, take care readers!

Dusk to Dawn

2011-10-03T00:31:00.002-06:00

Greetings readers!

I have finished a busy final week of rehearsals with Pro Coro artistic conductor candidate, Magen Solomon, and performed with Pro Coro today.

Overall, I can say that the Dusk to Dawn concert and rehearsal process was a very interesting and unique experience. I definitely had some mental and vocal blips (more than I would have liked) during the concert but it seems that I was not the only one. I think we would have all liked another rehearsal or two just to solidify some of the music. As well, there were some unexpected kinks throughout the process such as a incorrect edition of a Bach score (we didn't receive the final copy until the Wednesday before the concert). However, a lot of the collective blips in the performance were at unexpected portions of the music which didn't surface during rehearsals.

As for my thoughts on the Solomon herself, I won't comment just yet because I'd like to work with all three candidates before I form my opinions. However, I am assembling notes which I will be happy to share in a blog post at the end of the process. I just want to say, I can't begin to imagine the challenge it is to arrive in a new city and work with a new group of singers on music one loves and knows so well. However, I will say this about Magen as a person:

I love how she shows us exactly how she is feeling---if the music is good enough to be moved to tears, she will have tears in her eyes.

I had a fantastic time working with Magen. You can tell she genuinely cares for her singers. She showed it in her beaming warmth, which was evident when she brushed aside my goodbye handshake and embraced me with a hug following the concert.

I wish her all the best in the process of Pro Coro artistic director decision making and look forward to the arrival of the second candidate, Mark Bailey, who will arrive next week to start rehearsals next Friday!

Until then, all the best readers.

Rehearsals Begin

2011-09-24T22:04:00.002-06:00

Greetings readers,

It is the start of the autumn season! That also means I am back at choir rehearsal and the intense blur of Pro Coro rehearsals have begun. It's nice to get back into a routine but I feel like I have to recondition myself to pay attention after so many months mental rest. The program repertoire for the concert is definitely challenging to say the least. There were some moments during rehearsal, where my mind felt like this:

!?!????????!!!!!!!!?!?!??!?!??????????!!!!?!?!??!?!

However, I think the music just needs to grow on me more. It's not easy to enjoy the fine musical nuances when I'm still apprehensive about singing the right the notes. I'm also having trouble clapping syncopated rhythms while singing quarter notes. The shame! I don't know what's wrong with me. Perhaps the motor part of my brain that's controlling my coordinated oral-motor and gross limb movement is just not as developed? If I manage to pull it off in rehearsal or the performance, I am so giving myself an air high-5.

In terms of the repertoire, there's a very cool Brazilian folksong called "Na Bahia tem" (which is the one that requires the percussion), a jazzy piece called "Another Lonely Spring," a 20th Century choral piece (which tonally kinda blows my mind) called "The Marriage", a catchy chant/folk piece called "Awit sa Panginoon", as well as some Bach, Brahms, other early music pieces as well as a world premiere of a piece which Solomon brought specifically for Pro Coro: Ouroborus.

I'm sure to post more rehearsal updates as I make my way through this week. The concert will be Sunday October 2, 2011 @ 2:30 pm at McDougall United Church if you'd like to attend. Feel free to check out the website for more information.

Until next time, take care readers!

Choral Fair Thoughts

2011-09-21T19:54:00.001-06:00

Gateway Chorus

Greetings readers!

I had the pleasure of attending Edmonton's first choral fair this past Sunday. First and foremost, I had no role in the planning or execution of this event so my observations are purely from an outsider's standpoint. Overall, I agree with the ideology of the event: educating and distributing information to prospective choristers about Edmonton choirs.

However, I felt that the event was more of a concert rather than a fair. Also, it would have been nice to see more choirs represented since the Choral Fair only had a sampling of all the choral offerings in the city. Of course, I understand this is definitely a logistical matter, to connect with all the choirs is not an easy endeavour. I definitely think that all Edmonton choirs should have an information booth but, perhaps, not all of them need to perform. There could be some that are chosen to perform live but others could simply have an information booth. Thus, the choirs that don't perform live could provide sound stations for people to listen to choir recordings.

Truthfully, I just felt there was too much live singing. Almost all choirs sang at least 3-4 songs, and while I understand it needs to be worthwhile to the choristers who have given their Sunday afternoon to perform, I felt like it should have been more of a "choral sampler" and not so much a mini concert provided by numerous choirs. An audiences' auditory attention has the tendency to wane, and from the time I arrived there at 2 pm to when I left at 4 pm, there was no break in singing. As well, the atmosphere wasn't really conducive to mingling or walking around while choirs were on stage. I believe the event would have benefitted from more down-time so prospective choristers could walk amongst the information booths without having to feel obligated to listen to the rotating choirs in the background.

I have to applaud the efforts of all the choirs that did perform. September is a scary time to perform because most choirs would have been lucky to have even one rehearsal before performing that early in their season. It also gave me a chance to hear a lot of choirs in one sitting. I heard "Vocal Alchemy" for the first time, listened to the vocal coaches for the E-town Boy and E-town minors perform, and saw the entertaining choralography of Sherwood Park's "Gateway Chorus." Other performing groups included A Joyful Noise, Ariose, Chanteuses, Edmonton Christian Male Choir, Edmonton Metropolitan Chorus, Edmonton Youth Choir, Lynne Singers, and Richard Eaton Singers.

Ultimately, this Choral Fair has the potential to be a great annual event. It shows great promise and I am sure it will continue to develop and improve to showcase more choral talent for Edmonton audiences. There really is a choir for everybody so it's great to have an event that strives to highlight choral options within the city.

Until next time, take care readers!

Vocal Alchemy

Edmonton Choral Fair

2011-09-13T13:14:00.002-06:00

Greetings readers!

I just wanted to let you know about a free event that is happening in the Edmonton City Hall this Sunday, September 18, 2011 from 2-4:30 pm: The Edmonton Choral Fair.

If you have ever wanted to sing in an Edmonton Choir, but didn't know which one or where to begin, this will be an excellent event for you since you will have the chance to hear performances from some Edmonton choirs and there will be display booths, information, and sign-up sheets available as well for different groups in the city.

There are choirs ranging from beginner to seasoned singers, from children to seniors, and from jazz to classical. It is quite the diverse range so it would be worthwhile to investigate since there is no other time in the year when it's so convenient to see the offerings of so many different choirs.

Choirs that will be performing include: A Joyful Noise, Ariose, Chanteuses, Edmonton Christian Male Choir, Edmonton Metropolitan Chorus, Edmonton Youth Choir, Gateway Chorus, Lynne Singers, Richard Eaton Singers, and Vocal Alchemy.

There will also be information regarding new choirs forming such as E-Town Boys and E-Town Minors, both being organized by Edmonton Metropolitan Chorus. As well as the new Gay Men's Chorus at the Alberta College Conservatory of Music.

I'll definitely be there so feel free to say hi or you can also follow my tweets.

Until next time, take care readers!

Back to Choir

2011-09-09T00:24:00.001-06:00

Greetings readers!

According to a cheesy stationery supply commercial: "It's most wonderful time of the year." It's back-to-school time! This year is a bit different for me since I'm finished all my courses for my program. I'm just finishing my thesis and getting ready for my clinical placement at the end of this month. However, some things don't change, and this year, it's the anticipatory buzz for choir to begin again.

I will be singing with Belle Canto and Pro Coro again this season. The other day I wrote down all the rehearsal dates and performance for both choirs. Although I was feeling short of breath looking at how busy my schedule was, I just took a deep breath, and remembered that it's going to be awesome. I thrive off of feeling productive so the more I pack in and am able to accomplish, the more I take on the following year. Since I was able to balance both Belle Canto and Pro Coro with a full course load last year, I rationalized that I could do the same and more this year. I have yet to reach my breaking point, but hopefully, it is not coming anytime soon. Until then, I will continue to walk a fine line with this chaotic balance that I have constructed for myself.

Here are some things I am looking forward to this upcoming choral season:

The rehearsals and concerts of the three artistic director applicants for Pro Coro: Magen Soloman, Mark Bailey, and Michael Zaugg (and seeing who is chosen by the end of the season)
The rural Alberta Pro Coro concerts in Red Deer and Camrose
Singing Swedish choir music with Swedish conductor, Erik Westberg
A traditional chorister candelight procession at Christmas
The Cantilon Broadway Gala where "Oliver!" will be performed
Singing at Podium 2012 with Belle Canto in Ottawa

Of course, I'm sure there will be other musical things thrown into the mix that I just haven't arranged yet. Maybe I'll be able to fit in an audition in there or arrange a solo voice lesson to learn some new skills. I will leave those possibilities open, but just know that whatever I musically experience, I will post on this blog.

Just last year I didn't know if I would sing one or any of the concerts with Pro Coro, however, a season later and now I'm a core member. It's crazy what can change in a year! Over the past year, I've also been contacted for some freelance singing work and being a section leader. Pro Coro has really opened the door for singing opportunities for me.

At any rate dear readers, what are you all most looking forward to this upcoming season? Please post your thoughts in the comment section below.

Until next time, take care.

P.S. I hope you like my new layout!

Symphony in the Afternoon

2011-09-05T20:45:00.002-06:00

Greetings readers!

It was a hot summer day on the final day of the Edmonton Symphony Under the Sky Festival. Although I was sweltering in my jeans and long-sleeved t-shirt dress, I enjoyed the sizzling weather nonetheless and was happy to see so many familiar faces (some of whom also happen to be blog readers-thanks Kate and Leanne!).

The Monday afternoon concert began with a dual offering of Gershwin with "An American in Paris," which is so wonderfully cheeky and "Rhapsody in Blue" with its amazing reedy glissando at the start of the piece. Pianist, Sarah Ho, played with an elegant and agile energy in "Rhapsody in Blue" and was gorgeous in her white asymmetrical gown.

Marquez's "Danzon No. 2" was definitely a repertoire surprise for me since I had never heard it but I loved its saucy percussive beat and the use of different orchestral textures. Especially the musical banter between the strings and brass section. The "Brazilian Fanfare" by Clarice Assad was also a nice survey piece of Brazilian musical genres.

Every year there is a young composer who debuts a piece at the festival and this year it was highschool student, Andrew Reid, with his work "Echoes of Time." It was a lovely atmospheric piece that could easily serve as a score for an upcoming movie. Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" wrapped up the festival, as is tradition, with canons from the 20th Field Regiment of the Royal Canadian Artillery. Once the canons start going off, the orchestral chimes signal the victory bells that are ringing and the audience joins in with their own percussion instruments from ringing bells to jiggling car keys. Since I forgot my bells, I decided to download a last-minute "Jingle Bells" app to join in. I have to admit, it definitely was not as resonant as a real bell.

The festival was fantastic this year with a record breaking number of over 12 000 seats sold! I just want to say a thank-you to the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra for continuing to put on an amazing labour day weekend festival and for Phil for arranging my blogging tickets. Do check out the upcoming concerts for the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra since the Symphony Under the Sky Festival is only the start to their musical offerings this season.

Until next time, take care readers!

Hollywood Night

2011-09-04T12:38:00.000-06:00

Arrival

Greetings readers!

Last night was the Hollywood Night at the Symphony Under the Sky Festival. As predicted, it was packed! There were barely any spots of unclaimed grass seating so it was a fantastic seeing so many people there.

The program began with Hollywood film music from "E.T's Flying Theme," "Beauty and the Beast Suite," "Pirates of the Caribbean," (which I think was my favorite due to it's boisterous nature), and the suite from "Batman." It's been a while since I've heard the Danny Elfman "Batman" theme and I still got that creepy vibe when the joker's demented waltz came on. Other evening highlights included the "Unchained Melody" and "The Wizard of Oz Suite," which I could hear audience members humming along to, and the gorgeously moving "Godfather" movie theme. One of the best parts of the evening? Seeing the audience so quiet and still while listening to the Godfather Theme.

Audience

There were also some unprogrammed highlights during the evening which included an impromptu guest appearance by Al Simmons who, complete with a handheld set of audience captions, urged the audience to "sing along" in advertisement for his concert on Sunday afternoon. At the end of the evening, I had my fingers crossed for an encore, which is traditionally expected at the Hollywood night of the festival, but I wasn't sure if they were going to bust out the Star Wars costumes and theme song as they have done in past years. This year they mixed it up with some Harry Potter "Hedwig's Theme" instead. You can do no wrong starting and ending the evening with John Williams.

Evening Sky

In the meantime, do check out the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra website for more details (there is another concert this Sunday afternoon and evening) and I will report back here after the final festival concert on Monday afternoon.

Until then, take care readers!

Symphony Under the Sky Begins

2011-09-02T22:33:00.000-06:00

Greetings readers!

Evening one of Symphony Under the Sky has officially wrapped up. The first evening of the festival is always composed of classical program that is similar to the Masters series during the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra's regular subscription season. Tonight's program began with the Canadian national anthem, which the audience sang with increasing confidence as they gauged the acoustic offerings from neighboring voices.

Handel's "Water Music Suite" was a dainty and effervescent start to the festival with a rousing Allegro section. The Andante espressivo section was, well... andante and expressive. The excerpts ended with the familiar melody in the Allegro deciso section that is iconic of the "Water Music Suite."

Mozart's "Concerto for Flute and Harp in C Major" was a highlight of the evening with fantastic performances from soloists Elizabeth Faulkner on flute and Nora Bumanis on harp. After the initial balance of the microphones was established, the gentle and feminine instrumental voices from the soloists were clearly heard above the sound of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. Faulkner had a lovely open tone which was further enhanced by Bumanis' cascading melodic lines. It was a lovely performance with many moments of acoustic familiarity which, I think, was appreciated by audience members who aren't as well-versed with the world of symphonic music.

The evening ended with Brahm's Symphony No. 2 in D Major which was accompanied with some rain during the second and third movements. However, it was nothing that an umbrella and raingear couldn't handle. It was actually nice to hear the wet, moody, patter of raindrops within the middle symphonic movements. The rain cleared out by the spirited final movement so people were able to view the rest of the performance without the obstruction of umbrellas. I wish I could comment more on the piece itself but, unfortunately, in conjunction with staying dry and warm, I have to admit my full concentration wasn't on the musical offerings.

One of my favorite moments? It was seeing the sun set over the crowd.

Overall, it was a beautiful start to the festival and I look forward to the remaining performances this weekend. I know that the Saturday evening and Monday matinee performances tickets are not available online but there will be some available at the on-site box office before the performance. Please refer to their website for more information on box office times and tickets for all performances. You can also follow twitter updates from the festival at #yegSUTS

Until next time, take care and stay dry!

Symphony Under the Sky!

2011-08-24T23:49:00.015-06:00

Greetings readers!

It's that time of the year again... the Symphony Under the Sky festival on labour day weekend September 2-5, 2011!

More than anything else, this festival has become a mother-daughter tradition in my family now. However, it wasn't always this way. My friend, Nadia, actually introduced me to the festival and we started out by volunteering. We sold Häagen-Dazs icecream bars from the cart, ushered concerts, and helped run the Teddy Bear picnic hospital. I wasn't much help with the latter position since I didn't possess any sewing skills. Thus, I was unable to mend the teddy bears brought to me. I could only deal with imaginary teddy bear flesh wounds by applying a band-aid on the affected area.

Since that time, my sister, Sarah, and I have managed to turn our mother into a Symphony Under the Sky convert. This was definitely an experiment because my mother is not the outdoorsy type. She always wondered why Sarah and I would willingly sit outside and feed the mosquitoes at summer festivals. The first year she went to Symphony Under the Sky we thought it would be better to get her a reserved seat, however, she quickly discovered that the reserved seats do not possess the hammock-like comfort of a lawn chair. After that realization, we went to Canadian Tire and purchased some Hawaiian fabric lawn chairs. Oh, so classy. We've never looked back since. Year after year you can see us on the grass seating area lounging with our Harry Potter fleece blanket and tea thermos. It's also the only time of year when my mother indulges in western festival luxuries like jalapeno cheddar smokies and mini donuts.

This year will not disappoint as the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra has brought back conductor, Bob Bernhardt (his 6th year leading the festival!), to conduct the weekend concerts. Here's an overview of the concerts:

Friday, September 2, 2011 @ 7pm

Mozart, Handel, and Brahms... what's not to love? After the traditional playing of "O Canada," which signals the start of the festival, the program items for the evening will include: Mozart's "Concerto for Flute and Harp" showcasing the talents of the ESO's very own Elizabeth Faulkner and Nora Bumanis, Handel's "Water Music," and Brahm's "Second Symphony." A lovely way to kick off the festival with some symphonic classics.

Saturday, September 3, 2011 @ 2pm

A concert filled with Broadway classics from Andrew Lloyd Webber to Sondheim. Definitely a must-see if you're a Broadway music lover! It will also be an interesting concert since Strathcona Highschool's Les Misérables cast will be performing pieces with Edmonton-born Broadway singer, Susan Gilmour. It will be a lovely afternoon filled with music from West Side Story, Carousel, Phantom of the Opera and others.

Saturday, September 3, 2011 @ 7pm

By far my favorite evening out at the festival is the Hollywood Classics evening. There's just something magical about hearing the music from Hollywood movies in the darkened park while holding a hot beverage. The audience can expect to hear music from old Hollywood classics such as E.T. and the Wizard of Oz to modern day releases such as Pirates of the Caribbean and Batman. The Saturday night concert is always packed and for good reason.

Sunday, September 4, 2011 @ 7pm

The Sunday night performance is definitely the "Canadiana" evening out of the festival. This year it showcases the talent and tunes of Ian Tyson. His songs will include "Four Strong Winds" which is an Edmonton Folk Music Festival anthem, "Somewhere in the Rubies", "Love without End" et al. His charming cowboy twang is sure to ensnare the hearts of audiences that evening. Plus, I'm sure he'll wear his cowboy hat on stage.

Monday, September 5, 2011 @ 2pm

The Monday afternoon concert always has three elements:

1. A killer soloist

2. A world premiere by a young composer

3. Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture complete with real canons from the Royal Canadian Artillery

This year those elements will include:

1. Sarah Ho playing Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue"

2. Andrew Reid premiering his debut piece "Echoes of Time"

3. Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture complete with real canons from the Royal Canadian Artillery (as per usual)

This year's Symphony Under the Sky holds the promise of great music and soloists. If you haven't already got your ticket(s), I'd advise you to purchase them now since the shows have a tendency to sell-out. This festival really is the best way to spend the last festival weekend in Edmonton. All ticket details for weekend passes as well as individual shows can be found on their website. Prices range from $20-$39 for individual adults and $82-$125 for adult passes (depending on performance and seat location).

I hope to see some of you there! If you won't be able to make it, you can also follow me on Twitter or search for festival tweets with the hastag: #yegSUTS

You can also check out what the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra has lined up for their upcoming 2011-2012 season:

Until next time, take care readers!

Remembering Suzanne

2011-08-21T23:53:00.016-06:00

On Friday I heard the tragic and unexpected news of the passing of a fellow chorister of mine: Suzanne Abele.

It's hard to know exactly what to feel or say in moments like this. An onslaught of self-reflections, what-if's, paralysis, anger, and guilt all seem to amalgamate into a web of confusing emotion. I still feel disbelief. I just saw her a few weeks ago at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival! How could she suddenly not be here anymore?

Suzie and I sang together in Chamber Choir together and I treated her like any one of the talented older choristers---with fear and awe. One can't help but be a little afraid and in love with the cooler older chorister. However, there was never a reason to fear Suzie because she was always so kind to my admiring chorister self. Suzie quickly moved onto other choral groups upon entering University while I finished up my years of highschool in Chamber Choir. Even though our choral pursuits did not overlap after Chamber Choir, I felt that my life ran parallel to hers in many ways. She sang in the University of Alberta Madrigal singers, and by the time I joined that choir, she had already left. However, we both continued to sing in different womens and mixed choirs in the city. I always admired her ability to pursue her scientific interests while maintaining her musical passions. It is a balance that I strive for as well and she served as a role model for me in that respect. It is a rarity to have a fellow Science Masters student singing with as much choral passion as I.

One thing that is really unique is hearing, reading, and seeing everybody's stories and photos with Suzie that are now surfacing. Andrea Vogel composed a lovely note about Suzie that documented her memories of her through the found objects in a bag Suzie had accidentally left behind. Each of these items reflected a different part of her character. From the container that held the homemade pie she made to the water bottle filled with wine. Everybody who came in contact with Suzie has their own way of remembering her. Some are substantial and some are brief; however, they all act as pieces in the mosaic of her life.

Of course, I immediately tried recalling my moments with Suzie. As if I was afraid that these memories would degrade if I didn't. I do not confess to be a close confidant of Suzie's, instead, I considered her to be a very dear musical acquaintance and role model of mine. I would always enjoy chatting with her at music receptions and concerts and she once confessed to me that she was a reader of this very blog. I remember brushing it off with an air of flustered modesty. I was humbled to think that she would find what I had written here on this blog of interest to her.

We had this unspoken acknowledgement of one another. When I would see her in passing we would exchange a few words, perhaps when she was getting her U-Pass from me at the CAB Infolink desk, or a warm smile and wave while I was sitting down at her folk music festival tarp--- that would be enough to catch both of us up. I also remember Suzie's surprise when a fellow soprano revealed a singing relaxation technique: the mental cueing of orgasmic sensations. We all burst out laughing!

As I reflect upon these previously mentioned moments, I do feel guilty for not having known her better, however, I realize it's impossible to connect with everybody you meet in life with the same amount of attention that they all deserve. All we can do is treat people with care and respect each time we see them. I am just thankful to have known her even though our time together was brief. I suppose that is all that we can do as we make our way through this difficult time: piecing together our collective memories to construct a supportive and therapeutic network.

So as the days pass until her memorial service this Wednesday conductor, John Brough, is assembling choristers who knew Suzie to sing at her mass on Wednesday morning. Please e-mail John: jsbrough(a)shaw.ca for more information and details before Wednesday, August 24, 2011.

Until next time, do take care dear readers. My heart can't bear it to lose any more of you.

Folk Fest Update

2011-08-08T15:22:00.002-06:00

My, oh my, Folk Festival is a wonderful time of year.

I went into this year's Folk Fest not knowing any of the artists. In a way, that's really the best because I went in without any expectations. Just an open mind. I always manage to find artists that I like. My two stand-outs of this Folk Festival: Jeremy Fisher and Del Barber. Both are singer/songwriters from Canada. Fisher hails from Quebec and Barber is from Manitoba.

Fisher has this quirky and wholesome stage presence which compliments nicely with his sing-as-you-speak performance style. Wearing his skinny artist jeans, comfy v-neck t-shirt, and his curly afro, he serenaded the audience with tunes such as "Shine a Little Light" or "Cigarette" or a love song incorporating tetris and math. What's not to love? Listen to some of his tunes here.

Barber has a bit more a biting wit to him with a Canadian prairie boy wholesomeness. As he confessed, where he comes from, it's all about three things: hockey, fishing, and women. Rocking a pair of jeans, a plaid shirt and his black Ray-Bans at the festival, he sang songs about his disappointment over Archie choosing Veronica over Betty, a Junior Mint mishap on a blind date, and a breakfast date break-up in Chicago. Barber is a skilled storyteller and it felt like I was listening to an episode of Stuart McLean's Vinyl Cafe as he accompanied his stories with guitar back-up. You can listen to some of his songs here.

Other enjoyable artists I took in at the Folk Festival?

Deer Tick-an engaging rock-folk band from Rhode Island

Delhi 2 Dublin-an electric fusion of Indian and Irish music styles. They had the hill dancing on their feet in no time!

Other favorite Folk Fest moments?

Walking in the lantern parade with friends.

Watching the candlelight illuminate the Folk Fest hill.

Until next year's Folk Fest!

Folk Fest 2011

2011-08-05T14:22:00.003-06:00

Greetings readers!

It is that time of year again... it's summer music festival season! I missed the Edmonton Folk Music Festival last year since I was in Italy, but I'm back and ready as ever this year.

For those of you who may not be familiar with attending music festivals, an enjoyable aspect of it can come in the form of "Folk Fest Stalking". For more information on what I mean, please refer to a previous post on this subject matter.

I combed through the program last night and have been researching the performers for the past few weeks but I feel like the artist of my interest this weekend will be: Jeremy Fisher. I haven't heard him live yet, but after an evening session where he'll be performing tonight, I feel like I will have a better idea of what he's like to make an informed decision.

Last night was already a fantastic night of comparing program notes with fellow friends, dancing in candlelit to the Gipsy Kings, and catching up with family familiar faces on the hill. Folk Fest is definitely one of the best times of the year in Edmonton. Great music and great company!

I'll keep you all informed on my musical discoveries this weekend. You can also follow me on Twitter since I'll definitely be posting updates throughout the weekend!

Take care and enjoy the summer weather!

Wristbands of power

Captain America even came out to play

The Gipsy Kings on stage

The Quiet of Summer

2011-07-28T16:47:00.004-06:00

Greetings readers,

Summer is a quiet time for me as a chorister. While my more musically devoted friends are spending the time touring with their choirs and attending summer music programs, I am back at home finishing my thesis. All is fine and well since I know I have a busy choral season ahead of me as Pro Coro is auditioning three new artistic directors with consecutive concerts in the Fall months and Belle Canto will be back in rehearsals.

Until that time, however, I have very little musical choral inspiration these days. The Chamber Choir I was previously in has returned from the Wales Eisteddfod with some shiny new trophies and we also heard news that Belle Canto won the Equal Voices Women's Choir category at the National Competition for Canadian Amateur Choirs. I feel a bit of disconnected with the latter trophy since this competition has manifested itself into different forms over the past few years. It used to be hosted by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Choral Concert program and making it into the final round would require a live-radio sing-off with the competing choir. We would be singing in Edmonton and our rival choir would be singing in Toronto. That was awesome. No second takes and live-to-air broadcast. However, that is no longer the case. Now you just need to submit one recording and it you make it through the semi-finals your recording gets forwarded to the finals round committee. It does save the choir some work though since we no longer need to assemble for a final round in the middle of May. I just think the win doesn't seem as satisfying when we're not competing live.

That is all the choir updates I have for now. I am thoroughly looking forward to the Symphony Under the Sky Music Festival that will be happening at the start of September and will definitely be attending some shows. I'll write more preview posts once that arrives!

Until next time, enjoy the summer!

Congratulations CCC!

2011-07-09T21:14:00.005-06:00

Photo Credit: Llangollen Website

Hello readers,

I must say a huge amount of congratulations to the choir of my teenage years: The Cantilon Chamber Choir for winning first place in the Youth Choir category at the Llangollen Music Eisteddfod in Wales this year! I saw that they also managed to snag second place for the Female Choirs category as well. Very nicely done.

How far technology has come since the years that I performed in this very same festival. All there was in 2003 was a slowly updated website with photos that linked to an expensive photo purchase site. Not very exciting. I was impressed with the social media presence of the festival. Also, they have all the video media from the festival streaming on their website! It's is great for people like me who can't attend the festival but who want to hear what's going on. It's a bit of deja vu watching their performances since I've sung most of the pieces and have worn that very same uniform on that stage. There was one point when they were singing "Hosanna" in the Senior Children's Choir category and it was like I was on the stage with them. I could breathe the humid air, smell the sweet scent from the fresh flowers that lined the stage, and see the haze of the audience underneath the amphitheater tent stage lights. Although I do not recognize many of the faces there, it's comforting and exciting to see the new generation of the choirs' singers.

It also appears that the "Choir of the World" award goes to the Adventist University of the Philippines. I listened to their Choir of the World competition piece. Typical sacred Latin text set to music. It's very nicely done but I would have loved to have heard something with a bit more musical character. It felt like a safe choice. Listening to choirs at an international festival is the time to get inspired by wonderful choral pieces and have a chance to hear things I haven't heard before. I wasn't particularly moved by their choice in repertoire. Take a listen and tell me what you think.

Also, you can bet that I'm going to be combing through the video archives listening to the other choirs. If I find anything that sparks my attention, I'll be sure to post it here. If you find something that is interesting feel free to post it in the comments below!

If you need a recommendation for what to listen to first, I would suggest the winning Cantilon Chamber Choir Youth Choir Class :)

Until next time, take care readers!

Playing the Part

2011-07-05T23:46:00.003-06:00

What's one step towards becoming a legitimate artist?

For me... it's composing a biography. I've always attributed biographies to people who have credentials. A section where an artist can list their schooling, accomplishments, hopes, dreams etc. in an eloquent and informative paragraph.

What about for somebody who doesn't see themselves as having credentials?

A few weeks ago I received an e-mail from Pro Coro stating that they were looking to compile biographies and headshots. First thing that went through my mind?

"Oh, no. People will discover what a complete professional chorister fraud I am."

I do not have a PhD in choral conducting, a Masters in Voice performance, or even a Bachelors in Fine Arts. Frankly, I'm just a Science student who has a very passionate interest in choral music. But maybe that's a good thing? Maybe an amateur choir singer reading my biography on the Pro Coro website can come to realize that, hey, you just need a passion and willingness to learn in order to do something to love and you don't need international training to accomplish that. Of course, it's great to have the musical training to provide an excellent background, but I came to the realization that it's not the only factor. And that I also shouldn't be ashamed of my musical background since it has gotten me this far. Perhaps I was too quick to write myself off as a total fraud?

I went to the first thing I had available for biography help, a "Singspiration 2011" brochure lying next to my laptop. Inside were five lovely music biographies of guest conductors at this camp. I perused them all. I refrained from being jealous of their content and looked solely at their structure. Using this scaffold, I composed my first biography draft. They all seemed to have the following components: where the artist came from, what they have done, their educational credentials and the places they received them, awards, what they're up to now, and how in-demand they are. Since I didn't have the information to fill out all these sections, I had to substitute with things that I have done. I sent my draft to some friends, and after incorporating their edits and embellishments, I settled on this edition. For the purpose of this blog post, I have used my internet alias "misssable". Feel free to peruse it for yourself :)

______

misssable is an avid chorister who was raised within the local Edmonton choir community. During her formative musical years, misssable participated in large number of groups ranging from the Schola Cantorum Junior, Intermediate, and Youth Choirs to the Cantilon Chamber Choir. While in university, misssable was a member of both the University of Alberta Madrigal Singers and the Belle Canto Women's Ensemble. Over the years, misssable has participated in a variety of choral music festivals, both at the local and national level. Highlighted festival experiences include her appearances at the Edmonton Kiwanis and Podium Music Conference, as well as in the CBC Choral Competition for Amateur Choirs. She has also toured extensively to various international festivals, including The National Eisteddfod of Wales, the Béla Bartók Choir Competition, and the Cork International Choral Festival. misssable possesses a Bachelor of Science degree and is currently completing a Masters in Speech-Language Pathology, both from the University of Alberta. In addition to being an active member of both Belle Canto and Pro Coro Canada, misssable demonstrates her passion for the art of choral music as the author of the popular "Choirgirl" blog. She is thrilled to be sharing her love of choral music with the Pro Coro community again this season.

______

Until next time, take care readers!

The Subtlety of English Madrigals

2011-06-25T18:55:00.004-06:00

Greetings readers!

I am back after a bit of a hiatus where I was off travelling in Spain but I am now back for the summer. Upon arriving home, I had the chance to make my way out to The Ranch to sing for the Pro Coro Golf Tournament Fundraiser. We chose two quick-read and familiar pieces, "Alta Trinita Beata" a sacred hymn and "Come Again! Sweet Love Doth Now Invite" by John Dowland. Now most of you all probably know, and if you do not, you probably should know, that English madrigals are largely centered around two topics:

1. Spring

2. Sex

In some madrigals, the sexual innuendos are tastefully scattered throughout the piece. Perhaps in a censored and frolicking "fa la la la" chorus? Many other times, however, the text is not so subtle in suggesting its alternative meaning. Take, for example, the third phrase from "Come Again! Sweet Love Doth Now Invite" (you can probably already read the double meaning from that title).

Gentle love, Draw forth thy wounding dart

Thou canst not pierce her heart; For I, that to approve

By sighs and tears more hot than are my shafts

Did tempt, Did tempt while she for scanty triumph laughs

So many terms to describe phallic images. Classy. It's hard to sing with a straight face coming from my 21st century mindset, but amusing nonetheless! I guess that's what happens when people are cooped up inside for the entirety of Winter. When Springtime arrives... all that repressed sexual energy can finally be unleashed! I suppose in someways I am starting my Spring/Summer off in way a person from the English Renaissance would have approved of. Singing about a good ol' romp in the fields!

Until next time, take care readers!

Reality Check

2011-06-07T15:58:00.003-06:00

Whoa.

So I am currently on vacation in Spain, but upon checking my e-mail, I received a bit of reality check when I received Pro Coro's newsletter:

I'm a core member next season! O.k., so in a way I knew this since they asked if I wanted to sing next season. But it just looks so... official. You would think that after a year of singing in this choir I would get used being affiliated with them but the surprise definitely has not worn off. It should be an exciting season since Pro Coro is currently looking for their new artistic director and they have three candidates in mind. Each one of them will be doing a concert with Pro Coro in the Fall before a final decision is made. You can check out the biographies of candidates, Magen Soloman, Mark Bailey, and Michael Zaugg on Pro Coro's website.

Audition Season

2011-06-07T15:34:00.004-06:00

It's Springtime! What does that mean? It's audition season for the upcoming choir season! The Classical Music in Edmonton blog is doing a great job of posting them as they arise. For example. notices for Pro Coro, Da Camera and other choir auditions were already posted.

I also know that Cantilon Choirs is also getting into recruitment mode for all their choirs. Whether potential choristers are aged 6-9 and want to join the Primary Choirs in St. Albert, Sherwood Park, and Edmonton or in their teens and are looking at Children's Choir or Chamber Choir... this is the time to try out!

Choral music is alive and well and this is the time to take advantage of it no matter what group fits you best! Take some time to do some internet research for what groups are available in your area and give them a call to set up an audition time! Or perhaps you've been debating whether or not to audition for a group that's above your perceived level of musical skills---I say audition anyway! The only thing that they can say is no and that would be the same answer if you didn't apply at all. Take it from me, as a chorister who didn't expect to get into a professional choir after years of amateur choral singing, you never know what will happen or what people are looking for!

Have fun auditioning!

Thoughts from Eric Whitacre

2011-05-26T22:24:00.005-06:00

Greetings readers!

I watched this extremely interesting video of Whitacre answering fan questions and his answer to how he approaches music composition particularly resonates with me. I love how he is inspired by text and how he internalizes it to the point where melodies and chords begin to emerge to match the text.

I like listening to him articulate his artistic process and his architectural approach to music. I think he describes the process of music composition in a very accessible way. One of the most frightening things about composition, or any artform really, is the amount of trust and hope you need to have in your ability. You are depending on the fact that you can synthesize something innovative and unique in the time that you are given. It's also interesting how he realistically details his love-hate relationship with deadlines. I'm glad we have something in common. Good thing there are deadlines or else things would never be finished. As he very eloquently quotes in the video: "The work of an artist is never finished, merely abandoned."

Farewell Festival

2011-05-10T23:18:00.005-06:00

Farewell festival

In the formative years of our relationship...

We used to spend so much time preparing for our meetings

Rehearsing our lines

Steaming our uniforms

We were driven to win

We sought your approval and validation

Alas, over the last few years we've been growing farther apart

When did it begin?

I cannot remember exactly

In truth, we cannot remember what we were gaining from our relationship

We stared up at your adjudication vessels from our pews

Subtly checking the clock to see when we could leave

Enduring the awkward silence between songs where comments would be written

We've reached the point where...

You just question our artistic choices

We are not inspired to be better musicians

We've had some lovely years together

And appreciate your recognition with consecutive national awards

But it's time we go our separate ways

There's another choir out there waiting for you

We wish you all the best

Farewell.

Spring Season

2011-05-01T01:08:00.005-06:00

Greetings readers,

The coming of Spring always signals a busy time for a chorister because it is performance season. By April and May choirs have settled into their sound and repertoire for the season. Thus, it's time to take these newfound skills and compete. Perhaps, even win some scholarship money. Belle Canto is no different since we have already competed in the St. Albert Rotary Festival and have been recommended to compete in the Provincial music festival next weekend. However, there is still the Spring concert today. This is actually the first Spring concert I've sung with Belle Canto in at least five years because I usually travel in May.

I went to the dress rehearsal for the Spring concert yesterday morning and I was definitely groggy to say the least. One would think that after many Saturday morning rehearsals with Pro Coro I would be used to morning singing but, alas, that is not the case. I made my way through audience friendly choral lyrics:

Soft and low, song of the breeze

Whispers to hills below

Flowers and trees, listen delighted

Dance gentle willow, dance

A bit too sweet and cheesy for my taste but nice for an audience. I do like the Spring concert because it gives me a chance to hear the other singers in the Cantilon Choir program. I usually only get a taste at the Christmas concert (since I'm staring at everybody's back while sitting in the choir loft) but everybody is much more polished by the time Spring arrives. If you're in Edmonton and happen to be free, come on by!

When: Sunday May 1, 2011

Where: McDougall United Church · 10025-101 Street
Tickets available at the door: $15/$12 (students)

Until next time, take care!

An Easter Well Spent

2011-04-23T01:43:00.008-06:00

Photo Credit: Kathryn Sparks

Greetings readers,

Just coming off of the high of singing Bach's St. John's Passion with Pro Coro on Good Friday. My, it was a gorgeous performance. It was due in part to the hypnotic tenor, Derek Chester, who was so good that I was actually missing my entries during the dress rehearsal because I was caught up in listening to him. Something that usually doesn't happen to me! It was the first time I got to hear him sing all of his Evangelist parts so I was thoroughly entranced by his voice, as I hinted to in a previous entry. His diction had such resonant clarity and the German came off the page as lively and expressive throughout the entire piece.

In addition to singing some absolutely beautiful choruses, I got to listen to so many fantastic soloists make their way through the piece. The unique thing is that most of the other soloists came from the Pro Coro choir. The whole performance just whipped past for me and I couldn't believe it was the end when it arrived. It was definitely a performance where I lost track of time. One of my most memorable pieces was the second last chorus: "Ruht Wohl Ihr Heiligen Gebeine." There is just something about the sound of the singing string melody that is goosebump-inducing and resonates to my very core. It sounds a bit ridiculous, but if I felt like I was crying inside because it was so beautiful. Maybe I should explain myself further---I'm more of a covert emotional person.

After the performance, there was a reception to bid farewell to Richard Sparks who has been the artistic director for Pro Coro for the last 10 years. I was thankful that our years overlapped and that I had the opportunity to work with him, this being his final year and my first in Pro Coro.

It was definitely a busy year with Pro Coro, there was a moment during the performance where I thought back to where I was one year ago: scrambling to learn a Bach aria and arranging the details to make an audition recording to submit to Pro Coro. Here I am one year later, where I have somehow managed to sing every concert in the season! One year can bring about so much change! I'm glad that Richard allowed me the opportunity to sing this season. It was great having the chance to sing such a diverse range of music, improve my sight-reading, and increase my confidence as a performing musician.

Also, thanks to my blog readers who have been reading along in my choral journey. In saying that, I hope you all have a lovely Easter!

Darkness

2011-04-21T17:28:00.005-06:00

Things I like?

Rehearsing in a darkened Winspear Centre---what great ambiance!

Tenor Love

2011-04-19T23:06:00.003-06:00

Alright, it's confession time.

It's not so much a guilty pleasure because I don't feel guilty about it, but moreso something that I take great delight in... and that's listening to tenors sing. Granted, not all tenors. There are some strained tenor voices which make my skin crawl, but when they're good... oh, they're good. There's just something about the smooth and romantic texture of tenor voices that makes me melt. It's actually a bit frightening how much power tenors have over women with their voices in general, but alas, that is the source of their power. In reality, it's not exclusive to tenors only since it's startling how most men become instantly attractive once they're performing. If they weren't particularly attractive before, they are suddenly captivating. If they were attractive before, they're downright irresistible. Unfortunate for women really, since I don't believe that women muster the same level of infatuation as a majority.

Thus, it's nice that I get to indulge in my tenor listening tendencies within Pro Coro. Starting tomorrow there's a full tenor section and a killer tenor soloist, Derek Chester, singing the role of the Evangelist for our performance of Bach's St. John's Passion this Friday.

*melt*

Until next time readers!

The Arrival of the Virtual Choir 2.0

2011-04-10T23:55:00.005-06:00

It arrived on Thursday, April 7, 2011: The Virtual Choir 2.0

After purchasing a USB microphone, spending hours learning, rehearsing, and recording myself to get a solid take of myself singing all four treble voice parts in "Sleep," it was time to watch the premiere Virtual Choir video. Strangely enough, when I watched it, I just felt a feeling of disconnect. Maybe in the few months it took Whitacre's team to compile the audio and video together my excitement had died down? It was still cool to see, don't get me wrong, but I was not moved to tears at the musical climax of the piece as many other viewers were.

To be honest, I was mostly curious to see if I would be able to catch a glimpse of myself singing in the video. I was also nervous since singing is not always a pretty thing to photograph and, on more than one occasion, I have had pictures snapped of my contorted face while singing an unattractive vowel. However, this was not the case and I am happy to report that I spotted myself at least three times in the video. They were all from the different videos from the four that I submitted (if you look closely on the "Canada" orb at 5:01 I'm on the lower central part of the globe). I believe they had a randomization software that made sure all of the 2052 video entries were shown at least once in the video and some of the close-ups are of Whitacre's personal favorites. On Whitacre's site you can already order a wide variety of Virtual Choir merchandise, such as t-shirts that state: "Choir Geeks of the World Unite." While this particular message resonates with me, I am trying to move past the stage where I wear t-shirts with personal proclamations.

Ultimately, it was a very cool project to be a part of and I'm interested to see the buzz and future projects that will occur as a result of it.

If you haven't seen it check it out here:

A First Look

2011-04-01T12:46:00.004-06:00

Greetings readers!

I was very excited to get a 2 minute glimpse of the upcoming Virtual Choir this morning. The complete video will debut on April 7, 2011 on Youtube. I highly recommend viewing the video in which Whitacre documents his musical upbringing and virtual choir projects. I also think it's funny how everybody thought his talk was over and gave him a standing ovation before he even played the newest Virtual Choir clip. I'm a fan of the interconnected global layout of the choir. It looks way better than the static choir formation with those nasty yellow potlights in the previous Lux Aurumque Virtual Choir video. Enjoy!

Diction Diction Diction

2011-03-27T12:15:00.007-06:00

Greetings readers!

I've been busy with consecutive rehearsals and concerts lately so it's been hard to keep up. I suppose the first concert I should mention is the one that wrapped up last weekend with Pro Coro's Founder Concert. We achieved some really nice musical moments during some of the bigger pieces like Josquin's "Ave Maria", the rich-sounding Mendelsson pieces, and Shank's "Musica Animam Tangens". I feel like these are the pieces that Pro Coro should be singing all the time if we want to build up our full-voice body. Pieces with epic sound. Marc Michel Gervais by the end of our rehearsal period, after his initial verbose disgust at our tendency to sing at half voice, said that Pro Coro has a lot of potential and to think of where their next 30 years are going to go. Also, that Pro Coro needs to increase the choir by at least 10 singers to expand the realm of available repertoire.

Nystedt's "Immortal Bach" was our encore piece. I found it very self-indulgent to sing. It begins with a simple Bach chant and then the voice parts begin to deconstruct upon the second repetition, singing at their own pace, and by the third repetition each chorister gets to choose when to change notes. It was lovely since you can bask in the vocal dissonances for 10-15 beats if you'd like before moving notes. Also, there's an magical acoustic lock when everybody eventually settles on the same end vowel. The acoustic ambiance was also aided by the fact that we all stood in the balconies of the church and enveloped the audience in sound.

After Pro Coro's concert it was time to start a new rehearsal cycle for Durufle's "Requiem" with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and Da Camera Singers. The big thing to remember from conductor Bill Eddins was "diction, diction, diction". Fair enough, diction is the acoustic cut the choir needed to use to be heard over the symphony but I felt like our musical sensitivity and phrasing was being lost. There is still a way to give those elements and provide crisp diction, however, I felt like the emphasis on diction prompted some choristers to oversing and be reduced to jolting entities that projected staccato word segments. From what I heard from reports from the audience, they were able to hear us quite well. My main fear-inducing moments during the performance were mostly for the men's parts. It took a while for the tenors and basses to consolidate and I still felt they were unsettled by the days of the performance. The soprano section was absolutely gorgeous. I always looked forward to their beginning solo line at the start of "In Paradisum". They had a soaring and gentle beauty to their sound which suited the transcendental line. The alto section I was a part of felt pretty solid too. It's hard to hear what we sounded like as a group, since all I could hear were the individual voices around me, but hopefully a cohesive blend resulted. There were gorgeous orchestra moments in the Durufle as well. I always loved hearing the lilting melodic bassoon line at the beginning of the "Lux Aeterna" movement.

On the Friday performance I could see that our clean cut-offs and diction was good enough for Eddins to give us a smile at two points during the piece, which I didn't see repeated for the Saturday performance. However, he lingered on the ending during Saturday night's performance when he refrained from putting his baton down at least for a good 10 seconds. A sign that he wanted to hold onto the musical magic in the air? I definitely had moments of "Man, I'm so lucky to sing with the ESO on stage at the Winspear!" during the two nights. I'm glad I signed up to sing the Durufle. It's another beautiful piece to add to the choral repertoire I've learned.

As I move into the next phase of my choral projects Pro Coro's St. John's Passion and Belle Canto's music festival preparation begins. Should be a busy few months!

Until next time, take care!

"Bright"

2011-03-19T22:12:00.007-06:00

Greetings readers!

So this week has been a blitz of choral activity.

Monday consisted of a workshop with Simon Carrington, prominent international singer and conductor and co-founder of the famous a capella group from the UK: The King's Singers. Haven't heard of them? Watch a video of their piece entitled "Masterpiece" as they make their way through different composers and musical eras. It's quite entertaining.

The workshop was for ChoralFest 2011 and was hosted by the Alberta Choral Federation. Chorale Saint-Jean and Belle Canto were the two community choirs participating in this workshop and all I can say is that Belle Canto just felt out of place. It wasn't just that we were all in our casual street clothes on stage, it was a workshop so I didn't think it was essential to be performing in our uniforms, however, it just felt like we weren't receptive to the comments and critique being given. Instead, there was this overwhelming feeling of self-consciousness and an apologetic vibe we were giving off for missing a chunk of singers from our group. Though we were there more for the experience, all I garnered from the workshop was that Carrington thinks Belle Canto's sound is "bright". Strange to be summarized by one adjective. There wasn't really any further explanation. I didn't know if bright was good or bad. I didn't know what it was supposed to mean at all.

It's also a bit unsettling how Belle Canto has become this bubble that rarely comes in contact with the choral community in Edmonton. We use to surface once in a while to do the live CBC Choral competition but there is no longer a live radio portion. It's been nice to be in other choirs like the Madrigal Singers and Pro Coro since it gives me a better idea of the kind of repertoire other choirs sing and the types of singers in them. I know it's unrealistic to think that there could be a project that united all the choirs and choristers in Edmonton (that would take a large amount of time and money which most choral organizations do not have) but I just wish we didn't have to look at other choirs as if they were strangers when we end up in the same workshop or festival class.

Overall, I didn't find the workshop satisfying. Carrington mainly drilled the men for singing to "notey" in Fauré's Cantique de Jean Racine and tried to incorporate some drastic pulling of dynamics at the ends of phrases in the madrigal "Sing We and Chant It"---reminiscent of the King's Singers choral style. Nearing the end of the evening I just wanted to go to bed... but that was probably due to the fact that I had just finished an intensive stretch of weekend rehearsals with Pro Coro.

Anyway, it's Pro Coro's Founder's concert tomorrow and after that I have also signed up to sing with Da Camera for Duruflé’s Requiem with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra next weekend. If I include this week, that means I'll be singing every evening for a solid two weeks. So this is the life of a working musician? It is tiring but fulfilling at the same time. I have to make sure I get a good amount of vocal rest and sleep if I'm going to survive and stave off the Spring colds that seem to be circulating in the community.

Until next time, take care!

Sing and Stop Holding Back!

2011-03-12T22:44:00.008-07:00

Greetings readers,

I've currently been busy attending a set of new rehearsals for Pro Coro's 30th anniversary "Founder's Concert" next Sunday, March 20, 2011 and the founder of Pro Coro in 1980, Michel Marc Gervais, has returned to Edmonton to conduct us. I was also surprised to find out that he founded the Schola Cantorum choral program at Alberta College in Edmonton. Schola Cantorum is where I first began my choral education so it's interesting for me to finally meet the man who has indirectly had a huge influence on my choral upbringing.

In a way, I wish I could have recorded what Gervais said to us during rehearsal. He is a great lecturer and has a very detailed way of describing exactly what he wants. I find that his singing terminology and imagery is specific and understandable and he provides consistent feedback. He discussed finding our "hook" and this term resonates with me as it directly links to images of tweaking my velum and superior pharyngeal constructors (soft palate and throat muscles) to produce a more focused sound. He also discussed that we should not only be thinking vertical to produce focused and bright vowels but to make sure they all have width and body. Common sense for any singer but something that is good to be reminded of.

During Friday's night rehearsal, I could immediately tell he was not impressed with Pro Coro's sound. I wished I kept tally of his comments but I believe it had to be around 10:1 (neg:pos). His biggest critique was that we were not singing with our whole voice. I agreed with what he was saying. Pro Coro has the tendency to just sing on the surface, playing it safe, blending well, but holding back, and Gervais would have none of this. I must admit, I was also a contributing to this sound as I was responding to what I was hearing around me. It's frightening the extent to which there is an unspoken consensus among choral members. He preached the possibility of singing with full sound and achieving a broader palette of choral sound as result of not holding back.

This is something that I agree with completely since that is something that works well in Belle Canto. However, it's harder to achieve consistency within Belle Canto. Belle Canto voices are always changing depending on availability, and when you build a choir on full-bodied sound, each singer is absolutely vital to the choral sound as whole. When Belle Canto is missing a chorister it sounds like somebody has punched a hole through the core of our sound.

Gervais was very clear in that he didn't want us to push our sound, but that it's equally as damaging to hold back and not sing with our full voice. He also empathized that he understood our fear, singing with full voice is not an easy task within a choral setting... especially when it's a smaller ensemble of 24 singers. Ultimately, I believe what he was getting at is that Pro Coro needs to take risks. If we aren't taking musical risks and giving audiences the entire spectrum of our sound, then how are we supposed to make memorable music? I think he has a very valid point.

Gervais also remarked that he does not believe there should be a difference between a choral singer and a solo vocalist. If this was last year, I would have argued that there's a huge difference. However, if I subscribe to his definition of a full-bodied choir, then choral singers should be singing as if they were soloists and listen to the other parts to create ensemble.

The rehearsal this morning went much better. I could hear people playing with the different resonant peaks in their voice to produce a focused and full-bodied sound and it was getting closer to what he wanted. There was a moment where he gave some positive feedback about our musical interpretation of Monteverdi's "Sestina," which requires a light and dainty tone, by remarking that it's the kind of music perfectly suited for us. Everyone seemed pleased but was it just another of saying that we're still not achieving the full-bodied sound he's looking for? Maybe it's me being overly sensitive and negative but I only heard the thinly veiled negative meaning of his positive comment. I will attribute my skepticism to my cultural upbringing where I often needed to decode meaning from indirect comments.

Pro Coro rehearsals continue for the rest of the week and culminates with concert on Sunday. If you are interested in attending you can find out more details here. I will keep you posted on the progress. Plus, on Monday Belle Canto will be participating in a community choir workshop with Simon Carrington-co-founder of the King's Singers with the Canadian Chamber Choir. Should be a fun evening!

Until next time, take care!

Videos Galore!

2011-03-07T22:47:00.007-07:00

Greetings readers,

You know what I'm excited about?

Videos!

Alright, so choir videos to be more specific. I've been singing in the community choral program, Cantilon Choirs, for quite a while now. First, with the Chamber Choir and now in the women's choir, Belle Canto. Slowly but surely they have been increasing their internet presence over the past couple of years. They now have their own Facebook page, choir c.d.'s can be purchased off of itunes, and they also have opened up a Youtube account. The Youtube account has been in existence for a while now but I never really noticed the slowly increasing number of videos. I am very excited by it all since it's nice to see what the concerts looked like from an audiences' perspective and what it sounded like. I posted some videos below:

One Day More-From our Les Miserables performance two weekends ago

Belle Canto at the Pre-Tour Concert to Italy in the summer. Kaipaava-a musical favorite of ours.

Gabriel's Greeting-The candlelight procession at our Christmas concert this past December

How Can I Keep from Singing-At the Cantilon Dessert auction fundraiser in the Fall. Here is a mass choir performance with Cantilon choristers from the Primary choir up to Belle Canto

If you want to check out more video from Cantilon Choirs visit this link

Until next time, take care!

Virtual Choir Musings

2011-03-03T21:31:00.009-07:00

Greetings readers!

So this has been an exciting week in terms of the Virtual Choir world since Eric Whitacre played a 2 minute clip of the Virtual Choir video (that is still currently being edited) for audiences at TED 2011. An interesting article surfaced as a result and one of Whitacre's quotes struck me as interesting:

“Human beings will go to any lengths necessary to find and connect with each other”

This got me thinking, as is the intent of the TED talks, about why I wanted to participate in the Virtual Choir. When I first read the quote I just thought, "That's so sad. I didn't do the Virtual Choir because I am lonely and trying to forge some kind of fictitious connection with others." Suddenly, my mind was flooded with mental images of nerdy choristers locked away in their rooms, sweating as they tried to position their webcams to frame their face, and debating which concert black top to wear. O.k, so I am describing my own personal experience but I'm sure others had a similar one.

However, I don't think that's what Whitacre is trying to get at---that we're all lonely choral nerds that need to be part of the Virtual Choir in order to feel accepted, he's simply trying to identify the underlying themes behind the motivation to contribute to the project. For me, personally, I really just felt like I missed the opportunity last time when I saw Lux Aurumque debut on Youtube:

I just thought it looked like a cool project. I always like finding new reasons to do music and recording projects on my computer. I can't claim that my intent was to form some kind of transcendental connection to other singers across the world, but who knows, maybe when I see the video debut in April I will feel differently. I still don't feel like I am seeking a way to connect with others, but I suppose at the base of it, that is what I am doing whether or not I want to admit it. A feeling of connection is definitely a possible byproduct of the Virtual Choir experiment, but not one that I was anticipating. I just feel that seeking a connection means that I am trying to fill some kind of unsatisfaction or void. Maybe I am and I don't know it?

At any rate, it was interesting to muse over exactly why I felt the need to be one of the 54 people who contributed four video tracks out of the 2,051 submissions. I'd like to say that it was because I was seeking a way to connect to international voices... but that was not my intent. It just looked like a cool project that I wanted the chance to be a part of. As well, I've always had the type of personality that thinks "why do one when I can do two?!?" and the cascade of rationale continues, thus, the reason why I produced four videos. If I had the tenor and bass range, I would have recorded all eight parts. For those of you who submitted videos as well, why did you participate in the Virtual Choir? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Until next time, take care!

Gala Success!

2011-02-28T00:36:00.012-07:00

One Day More
Photo credit: Steven T.

Greetings readers,

Another Broadway Gala has come and gone. The biggest difference this year? It was the best yet! We kept everything clean and simple due to Victoria's suggestion of using the concert version of Les Miserables and keeping our choreography to a minimum. We just did what we do best: sing.

It was the least stressful year ever. No rummaging through bargain bins for costume pieces, no last-minute rehearsal of choreography steps backstage, and no unnecessary microphone swaps on stage. The soloists were all amazing, Martin Murphy played Jean Valjean with passion and sensitivity, the "Little Fall of Rain" death scene between Marius and Eponine was tear-inducing during both performances, and Rob and Erin were hilarious as the Thénardiers, Victoria was a moving Fantine... I could go on and on about everybody, even those with the smallest solo lines made it their own. The men chorus was so fun to watch because they're just so expressive and they always look like they're having such a great time. Even when their backs are turned away from the audience they are radiating energy in their actions and facial expressions.

It just felt very much like a professional production. We had some costume components supplied to us so we really looked unified and we had a fantastic pianist and drummer in the orchestra pit leading the instrumental music. Also, we had a delicious pasta dinner supplied for us complete with home baked muffins for dessert. You know things are professional when you are well-fed!

It is a pleasure to do the Broadway Gala because everybody takes such pride in what they are doing and it really translates to the energy on the stage. There was one man from the chorus who had to do continuous costume changes in the wings of the stage, since he had to play a different small character in almost every scene, and he just did it with such grace and efficiency. It just shows how everybody's collective effort can produce an amazing show in a relatively short amount of time when everybody takes care of their own details. We just started rehearsing at the end of January and all of the blocking was done the week before the performance. We had a sold-out Saturday night show and our Sunday matinee was 80% sold. Not bad at all! On Saturday night there was an amazing reception and it was lovely to catch up with choristers from the past and audience members. It feels like a mini-reunion of sorts since the people I'm lucky if I can see some of them once a year.

Overall, it was a fantastic weekend. I'm feeling a bit fried from the busy rehearsal and performance schedule but I had a fantastic time doing it. Enjoy some pictures from the show below.

Until next time, take care and stay warm!

Lovely Ladies
Photo credit: Steven T.

The People's Song
Photo credit: Steven T.

Master of the House
Photo credit: Steven T.

At the End of the Day
Photo credit: Steven T.

ABC Song
Photo credit: Steven T.

Backstage in the Belle's dressing room. Factory worker outfits.

Erin's wig for Mme. T

Sydney and Sara tweaking costume details in the mirror

Adrienne as a fetching factory worker

The Belles getting ready backstage

A Lair of Vipers

2011-02-22T00:26:00.010-07:00

Do you know what season it is?

'Tis Broadway season at Cantilon Choirs!

Our annual "Broadway Gala" is coming up this weekend with two performances. One on Saturday at 730 pm and the other on Sunday afternoon at 2pm at the Arden Theatre in St. Albert, AB. Please check out this link for more details and tickets.

Today we had our first blocking rehearsal. Since it is the "In Concert" version of Les Miserables, there's isn't much choreography, more so just different arrangements of groups of people to set the scene for particular songs and a line of microphones at the front of the stage to amplify the soloists. I was in awe of the fact that we were able to finish all our blocking for the shows in one day. Usually we spend weeks on the choreography and it is usually a back and forth learning process. In the past, we have ended up retracting and relearning choreography continuously, changing it ever so slightly each time we run it that the resulting product is never the same. Thus, it is hard to learn and especially difficult for those absent to fill in what they missed when the routine they learned the previous week no longer exists. Not good. However, it looks like that is less likely to happen this year since the choreography complexity has been greatly simplified.

As well, I always forget how much amazing music Les Miserables contains. All the musical themes throughout the piece are fantastic! And extremely catchy. "At the End of the Day" has such crisp diction that echos the stinging reality of their poverty, "The People's Song" has an epic anthem quality to it, and "Lovely Ladies" has such a gritty dirtiness that masks the hollow loneliness of a prostitutes life. Mentioning "Lovely Ladies", I was hesitant to whore-suit-up (my parents will be coming to the show), but thought it would be good fun with all the other ladies in Belle Canto and chance to expand my stage bubble. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. It is extremely cathartic to play a character that is vastly different than the persona I have molded for myself. We received directions to assemble in a tightly layered group on stage and wave our arms in undulating "come hither" gestures so that we resembled a lair of vipers. Vipers? I can do viper. Afterward, I received a comment on how believable I looked as a whore. It's what every girl hopes for :)

In the next few days we will be running through Act I and Act II of the show on separate night complete with costume changes. Other than checking on some words which still trip me up and reviewing my entrances and exits for all the scenes, I think that everything is in control this year. I feel very little panic. Usually, we're rehearsing choreography backstage still on the day of the performance, but I don't forsee that as something that will occur this year. I also was saved a ton of work in the costume department because lovely Victoria from Belle Canto provided a box of costume pieces for us to borrow. Thank goodness because I definitely do not own a corset.

I'll keep you posted on the Broadway happenings. Here's a taste of what the concert version is like:

Until next time, take care readers!

Singing the the Dark

2011-02-12T00:18:00.006-07:00

Greetings readers,

Tonight I had the dress rehearsal for Pro Coro's "Music from Space" concert on Sunday evening. It is going to look so cool! The whole church is going to be in complete darkness except for our music stand lights and the blue glow of the projector showing images from the Hubble telescope above the stage.

It took a long time for my eyes to adjust to the lack of light since it's hard to see the conductor's gestures in the dark. Shocking, I know. Hopefully, we can shine a few more lights on him. The risers are a bit hazardous since there is a web of electrical cords all around my feet as I sing and I'm afraid to move around too much in case I bump stands and lights perched all around me. I'm glad we're no longer doing a processional. I don't need another hazardous walking opportunity to slip on stage again. Other than that, it felt pretty cool to be singing in the dark, there was this overwhelming sense of intimacy in the space. Voices seamlessly weave in and out of the fabric of the darkness and the paired visual and acoustic stimulus will yield a powerful effect.

Also, you may be glad to know, for those of you who read about my music learning woes in my previous post, that I was able to make it through Ligeti's "Lux Aeterna" for the first time without losing my way! This was quite the feat for me. I just need to sing with more confidence now and watch the conductor's shadowy hands with intensity since that actually helped me more than anything else.

Tomorrow morning is our last rehearsal before the concert on Sunday. If you happen to be in Edmonton, I'd recommend coming out to see the concert because it's going to be pretty unique!

Date/Time: Sunday, February 13, 2011 @ 7:30 pm
Location: McDougall United Church
Tickets: $25 Student/Senior; $30 Adult (Available at the door)
You can find more details here

Retreat Weekend

2011-01-23T20:52:00.006-07:00

Greetings readers!

Choir retreats are an essential part of the choir experience and this year Belle Canto decided to stay inside the city instead of heading out to camp for our annual retreat. Just as well since the roads have been unpredictable here and leaving the city would mean more unpaved roads. We have had 60.5 centimeters of snow since the start of January and if we get another 5.5 cm we can break the snowfall record set in 1971!

In my experience choir retreats are composed of a few essential elements:

1. Rehearsals
2. Sectionals
3. Food
4. Recreational activities
5. More food

They seem basic enough, don't they?

By far my most intense camp retreat was with the Chamber Choir in my teen years. We went out to camp on a Thursday night, rehearsed all day on Friday (we missed school) and Saturday and left Sunday afternoon after a morning rehearsal and brunch. In between rehearsals would be programmed recreation activities which would be constructed for us by the chaperones in order to bond with other choristers. While choral cliques were more or less established by the time camp arrived, it is always nice to have a moment with a chorister who you do not directly interact with on a regular basis. In the earlier years of choir retreats, it seemed like instant popularity went to the girl who possessed excellent sleepover skills like french braiding or a makeup set with the self-professed skills to give people makeovers.

I've seen an evolution of choral retreat interaction as adults seem to prefer a new additions to the equation: large circle conversations and alcohol. Granted, there were no large circle conversations this time around at retreat (I remember years when all 22 of us would be sitting in a circle and be listening to one person tell a story) but this cyclical orientation of social interaction is definitely a change from playing soccer with other choir members. While collective conversations with 3+ people is not my forte, I am appreciative of the fact that all of the women in the choir genuinely want to get to know each other. When I first joined the women's choir, I felt like I didn't belong because I didn't have a job, spouse, or children. In effect, I didn't have any way of relating to them. Of course, that is what starts conversations: the things you have in common or topics in which you have shared knowledge.

I think the nice thing about Belle Canto now is that I've been there for quite a few years and have even been on tour with them. Touring is the ultimate bonding activity. I feel like I don't need to speak for them to know what I'm thinking. I can give easily employ non-verbal means to convey my message and the eye contact from them is acknowledgment enough. I think that's one of the reasons why there is such a strong returning core group of singers in Belle Canto every year. Even with Pro Coro rehearsals are treated very much as a job, you are civil and polite to those around you but they still feel like strangers. One of my friends, Ku, once revealed to me that he uses three questions to evaluate whether or not to continue with a commitment.

1. Am I making money?
2. Am I learning something new?
3. Am I having fun?

If you answer no to all of the three questions. Clearly, it is time to think of focusing your time and energy elsewhere. Pro Coro positively answers the first two questions for me. While I have fun in Pro Coro, the sense of belonging that I have developed in Belle Canto surpasses my Pro Coro fun.

Therefore, I won't be leaving Belle Canto anytime soon. Retreat experiences like this past weekend just reconfirms that knowledge for me.

Until next time, take care!

Lost in Space

2011-01-15T15:20:00.008-07:00

Hello readers!

I'm back at Pro Coro rehearsals this week for our "Music from Space" concert and it has been intense indeed. We have two new pieces that were commissioned for the concert, a set of three chant-like melodies by Larry Nickel called "Creator Alme Siderum, Maker of the Stars", as well, a piece set to Einstein's quotes entitled, "and Einstein said." The latter is a set of six pieces written by our associate conductor, Trent Worthington. Both of these pieces have such lovely character. The Nickel piece has an epic feel with it's use of chant and there's a musical and textual motif that plays off of the expansiveness of space united with the religious latin text. Trent's pieces are just really fun to sing. I like how it's music that's trying not to take itself too seriously. It captures the mood of the quotes from Einstein with musical accuracy and simplicity. There's a fun part in the second section where the soprano's get to sing a dance-like melody that is reminiscent of "skipping and twirling through a flowery meadow." Seriously, those are the directions in brackets above their line. I think one of my favorites is the fourth quote: "The unleashed power of the atom has changed everything..." and the beginning portion has the choir humming and it sounds like the static of electrical charge. I also find it interesting that when I look at the notes on the page it resembles electrons in an orbital crosssection of Bohr's model. Extremely interesting music indeed!

We are also doing "Gloria Patri" a set of hymns by Urmas Sisask and the cool part about these chant melodies is that space images will be broadcast on a screen during the piece. I think this concert will have a very neat ambiance indeed. Our conductor, Richard Sparks, was inspired by this performance of Sisask:

There is also another piece on the program that strikes fear in my heart. It's been a while since I've been actually afraid of a piece but, alas, Ligeti's "Lux Aeterna" had me helplessly clutching my tuning fork during rehearsal last night. For those of you who have not had the pleasure of performing Ligeti's "Lux Aeterna", you may recognize it from Stanley Kubrick's "Space Odyssey." Listening to it is one thing, but looking at the music and performing it was another matter entirely to me. There are 16 parts in the piece and there are exactly 16 singers in this concert. Everybody sings within clustered semitones with one another and we usually have to come in on the 1/5 or 1/3 of a beat. Needless to say, it left me watching the conductor with fear. O.k, so it has gotten a little bit better during rehearsal, but I still have a lot of work to do before the next time we meet again in February. I think I knew it was a bad sign when he told us to take out our tuning forks if we had them. That metallic Y-prong was my musical crutch throughout the piece. However, I quickly found out that it was not that helpful and that listening to voices around me were more helpful than hearing an "A" from my fork and finding the interval I needed to be on from there. There is also an overwhelming sense of trust you need to have with the singers around you. That also means people are trusting in me to know my part. I do not intend to let them down.

My plan of action:

1. Learn the chromatic chant "cold." I should be able to wake up singing it in the morning with the right pitches.
2. Sing along to a recording or a video. I know that practicing it on my own won't be helpful. I need to be able to get my notes within the note clusters. Maybe a video might be best so then I can watch a conductor give beats and I can practice how to find my place again if I lose my spot?

At any rate, I am determined to learn this piece! If you have any music learning tid-bits, please leave them in the comments section below! Instead of looking at this piece with fearful anxiety, I will take a more proactive approach and dedicate my time to learning it.

Feel free take a listen to it here:

Until next time, take care!

2010 Blog Highlights

2011-01-01T13:11:00.003-07:00

Greetings readers!

One of the nice things about having a blog is the fact that I have a nice chronology of what musical happenings I have been up to this year. I'll list a few highlights below:

Guest Blogger Series with Amy B.

Though it was killing my inner chorister everytime I heard an update about my women's choir, Belle Canto, while they were competing in the Seghizzi Choral Competition this past July on Facebook, lovely Amy B. consented to guestblog for me while they were touring so I could fill in the details. I was able to receive daily updates from the festival about how they were doing, the behind-the-scenes activities of the tour and even photos from the tour. Technology is an amazing thing. Amy's wonderfully composed entries helped me throughout my choral grief process and made me feel like I was mentally involved in the tour though I was not physically there.

Getting into Pro Coro

By far the most challenging and impulsive choral decision I have made. While I was studying for my final exams last Winter term, I was suddenly gripped with the desire to submit an audition tape of myself for the professional choir here in Edmonton, Pro Coro. It was pretty tight since I needed to synthesize an audition recording of myself with no musical repertoire of my own, no venue to record, and no accompanist. I managed to resolve these factors by employing the help of my wonderful musical friends and submitted a tape the following week. After a stressful in-person audition, I was accepted to sing in the first concert! It was a steep learning curve in terms of music-making and performing but I wouldn't have it any other way since I really need a strong stimulus to initiate change in my life. The first concert was followed by a second, then a third, and I have been signed on to to sing another two concerts this new year as well. An exhilarating feeling to know that I made the cut! I will see where my Pro Coro experiences take me in the new year. Or, perhaps, maybe it is time for more new experiences as well.

Trips to Italy, San Francisco, and Montreal

2010 was a lovely time filled with short trips, in the limited breaks I was given this year, to visit friends abroad in Montreal, have delicious tea parties and watch musicals in San Francisco, and tour Italy with my mother to make up for my missed choir tour.

Symphony Under the Sky and SOSfest

The Edmonton music scene once again exploded with amazing summer festivals which included the new Sounds of Old Strathcona (SOSfest) featuring local talent in July. The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra also had their annual Symphony Under the Sky, which I always love, since there's nothing quite like listening to symphony outside while sitting in a lawn chair and eating mini donuts.

Virtual Choir

Where do I even begin? This virtual choir, perhaps, is the most exciting internet phenomenon I have had the opportunity to be a part of. It wasn't without it's frustration to work my video and audio recording equipment, learn the music, and follow a virtual conducting track... but I succeeded and managed to submit four videos of myself. I can't wait to see the finished product in the Spring of 2011. As of early this morning, they have 1098 entries from 49 countries! I think this will be the largest choir I am ever a part of in my life.

I have to say, 2010 was pretty epic but it's time to look forward now to 2011. I am not one to make a resolutions but I'm excited to see what 2011 brings! Have a wonderful New Year readers!

Virtual Choir Completion!

2010-12-28T16:43:00.009-07:00

Finally!

I have finished all 4 video entries to Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir! I'm so excited I was able to get them all done in time. Originally, I was only going to do one (soprano 2) video but then I decided I should make the most of my new microphone.

I filmed my Alto 1 entry on Christmas Day... because I didn't really have anything better to do in the afternoon before Christmas dinner. I also practiced the S1 and A2 part but my voice was tired from all the singing already so I couldn't record the other two videos.

Today I started with the A2 video to get it out of the way since my voice does a funny thing in that when I am too warmed up... I can't sing below a middle C. Not the most convenient thing, I know. It took 3 or 4 tries to get a good take and one of my best takes was ruined because my Dad started hammering nails into the door downstairs and that penetrated all the way into my track. After a sigh of exasperation and some silent fist shaking I just reminded myself that the thing about recording is that there is no perfect take. Well, for me at least. Just good enough and the next track I got was good enough for me to post. I only recorded the soprano 1 track three times and the second one was best so I scrapped the other two. The most tricky thing was just learning the notes between the video filming. Most of the notes were the same but there are some tricky ones that only differ by a note or two so you can't go on autopilot.

However, it is finished! The new deadline is January 10, 2011 so you still have time if you haven't entered yet. Think about it, I was able to film two videos in just one afternoon. Look through the music, sing along with another virtual choir entry, and just go for it. This is no longer the time for procrastination since the deadline is creeping up. I have a feeling the project is looking more for mere numbers than impeccable quality if that makes you feel better. Check out my previous post for all the instructions! Now, we just need to wait until the Spring to see what the Virtual Choir looks like assembled!

Take care and hope you are having a wonderful holiday season!

You don't have to watch them since they're kinda boring to listen to on their own but, if you have time to kill, you can line up the four videos (using the beep at the beginning) and you can hear me sing for you a 4-part choir :)

Soprano 2

Alto 1

Alto 2

Soprano 1

Hallelujah!

2010-12-19T21:03:00.005-07:00

Greetings readers!

After a few weeks of Christmas music choral frenzy for me, everything culminated in a free noon hour carol-o-thon at the Winspear Centre to raise money for the Edmonton Christmas Bureau, which is a charity that provides meals for families during Christmas. Afterwards, we were extended an invitation to participate in a flash mob by the Edmonton Opera. They wanted us to sing the Hallelujah chorus over in the City Centre Mall. Random, I know.

Most of the singers headed over to the mall, and upon arriving, I immediately noticed media cameras perched all around the mall square and surrounding balconies. The Hallelujah chorus began playing over the intercom speakers at precisely 1:15 pm. In all truthfulness, it was not a real flash mob. I think of a flash mob when one person starts singing, then two, then three, then everybody involved. They should also be doing something ordinary... not just standing around. For our flash mob some people were using music and we were all clumped around the base of the Christmas tree not trying very hard to look incognito. There were camera crews weaving their way through the chorus and a few of my friends got some lovely singing close-ups. I think my favorite was when a man, who was clearly not a part of the mob, was going up the escalators and singing along with us as he ascended in his pinstripe business suit. Clearly, he was just on his lunch break since the rest of us were wearing our winter coats having just walked from the Winspear Centre.

It was a lovely way to bring some random Christmas joy to fellow shoppers :) Here are two videos from the afternoon:

Cheesy Christmas

2010-12-09T11:27:00.002-07:00

You know what Christmas wouldn't be the same without?

Cheesy Christmas music.

Maybe I'm becoming a somewhat jaded chorister from singing too many mass choir pieces but I've developed a knack for recognizing cheesy songs that are inserted into a musical program for the specific purpose of melting an audiences' heart. Don't get me wrong, I love a good cheesy choral piece as the next chorister, but there are some that just make me sing with a perma-grin because their ulterior motives are not so subtle.

A piece that Pro Coro is singing with the Edmonton Youth Choir is called "Night of Silence" by Daniel Kantor and it has the components for all good cheesy choral music. Lyrics that are trying a bit too hard to be deep, a gentle melodic piano line, and an unexpected fusion of melodies. It's the choral composer's equivalent of a mash-up. There is one part in "Night of Silence" where the soprano's and altos are singing:

Spirit among us, shine like the star,
Your light that guides shepherds and kings from afar

Alright, that's harmless enough, but it's paired with the tenors and baritones singing:

Silent Night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright

It's so bad but so good at the same time :) I can hear the men in the choir really going for it with hyperexpressive diction and Il-Divo"esque" melodic flare. It keeps our rehearsals interesting and entertaining! Thanks guys!

You can get a taste for the song below:

The First 255 Voices

2010-12-09T11:18:00.001-07:00

You know what is cool?

I'm Virtual Choir Entry #176.

That is all :)

Sing We Nowell

2010-12-05T00:24:00.007-07:00

'Tis the season of Christmas concerts!

I have so many musical commitments going on that I can barely keep up with attending them all let alone blogging about them! I feel like I'm running from one rehearsal, to another dress rehearsal, to a carolling gig, and then back to another rehearsal, before doing it all over again the next day.

Today I started my day off with 3.5h dress rehearsal for our "Sing We Nowell" concert that is happening tomorrow at Winspear Centre. It was a relatively stress-free dress rehearsal. The carols are the same ones we have done in previous years and most of the tedious details were in the pacing and symmetry of the candlelight procession. It's not my favorite thing to run through but it's a necessary evil. The candlelight procession completes my Christmas. The rippling acoustic waves that are generated by the angelic processing voices entering the auditorium is goosebump-inducing.

If you are free Sunday, December 5 at 2:30 pm. Come to the Winspear Centre for some Christmas music goodness! Click here for more details.

Here is a taste of "The Holly and the Ivy" from today's rehearsal. Please excuse my amateur video skills.

A Start to the Christmas Season

2010-12-01T00:36:00.012-07:00

Wow, I had a fantastic time at Michael Kaeshammer's concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (ESO) with opening artist, Jill Barber. It was like being transferred to another time. A time when singers sang into rectangular metallic microphones, where dresses were more crinoline than fabric, and getting dressed up to go to a dance was a ritualistic coming-of-age event. O.k, so I can't confess that I've lived those those golden times, but my stereotypical images are heavily influenced by the 1955 scenes from Back to the Future. And from what I can tell? It was one classy era.

I definitely felt classy listening to the warm and smoky tones of Barber's voice. Not only is she gorgeous to listen to and watch with her expressive face and arms, but her sweetheart halter dress did not disappoint my fashion expectations of her. She opened with a new song, "Mischevious Moon," which is the name of her new album to be due out in the Spring. She also made her way through audience favorites such as "Chances" and "Never Quit Loving You." During the performance, she detailed a heartwarming story about girl meets boy, girl meets another boy, girl meets man, girl becomes woman, and man and woman marry. Heart wrenching past histories and happy endings seem to inspire love songs. She introduced her final song, "Oh My My," with a story about how the tune came to be. She woke up singing it in a dream. Barber was also eager to receive audience participation to echo her choruses, and although the audience gave a good try, it wasn't anything compared to what I heard Folk Fest crowds belting out from the hillside. Her short opening set list was over to soon for my liking but hopefully I will have the chance to see her again soon. Maybe the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra will bring her back for another joint concert? A girl can hope.

Of course, the headliner of the evening was Kaeshammer and I can definitely see why. He is a pianist, vocalist, and conductor all-in-one that happens to have fantastic showmanship skills as well. He radiates energy on stage and, frankly, sometimes I don't know how he managed to stay seated on the piano bench. At any moment in the program he could be found simultaneously playing the grand piano with one hand, with another hand on the electric keyboard behind him, tapping his left foot to the beat and bending his right ear to his right shoulder to signal the downbeat to his band members.

Kaeshammer succeeded in making the expansive Winspear Centre feel like an intimate nightclub that happened to have excellent acoustics. He did some lovely orchestral arrangements of "Mary's Boy Child," "Merry Christmas Baby," "Marshmallow World," and "I'll be Home for Christmas" with the ESO in addition to his toe-tappingly catchy solo pieces such as "Lovelight." The ESO definitely was more of a back-up band since his own personal band was at the forefront, both physically and musically. However, it's not everyday I hear such orchestral richness backing up a boogie woogie musical act so it was quite a treat.

Another amazing point in the program? Definitely when Kaeshammer had a little musical face-off with his drummer where they tried to surpass each other in tempo and musical technicality.

Overall, a fantastic way to start December and the Christmas season!

Take care and stay warm readers!

A Boogie Woogie Christmas

2010-11-27T22:30:00.006-07:00

Greetings readers!

You know what I love about Christmas? Surprise, surprise! Christmas music.

In a busy season that can quickly become overwhelmed with multiple commitments and invitations to more concerts than you can physically attend, definitely see if you can make it out to the upcoming "The Days of Christmas" concert with Michael Kaeshammer and The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (ESO), with special guest: Jill Barber.

As you probably already know, I'm a huge fan of the ESO from my previous posts. They do such an amazing job with providing an engaging season with refreshing and and dynamic musical programs. I'm also an avid fan of Jill Barber. Her smoky voice and killer sense of style makes me melt when I listen to her. It also makes me feel like dressing up in a Mad-Men-esque manner. I haven't seen her perform since the Edmonton Folk Festival in 2009 but I have been avidly awaiting her return to the city. She was the initial reason why I looked into this concert and lovely Phil from the ESO was willing to have me blog.

I haven't heard of Michael Kaeshammer before, but after doing some internet research, I think his performance style is exactly what my Christmas season is missing. I watched his "Lovelight" video and he seems spunky, charming, and extremely talented. I love watching live music unfold at the hands of talented artists. Especially one who is proficient with jazzy, bluesy, and boogie woogie tunes at the keyboard. Kaeshammer is currently touring the country to promote his new album, Lovelight, and the ESO site has him listed as performing "Christmas favorites" such as Mary's Boy Child and I'll be Home for Christmas. I'm sure there will be lots of lovely Christmas arrangements for Kaeshammer to perform with the ESO and I'm also sure he will be given the opportunity to play some solo tracks off his Lovelight album. He is headlining the concert after all. I'm extremely excited for this concert! It'll be a refreshing change from the choral-centric Christmas offerings I will be participating in. As much as I love a good candlelight procession, it's nice to have balance.

For more details about tickets or the program for the "The Day of Christmas" concert click here

If you want a little preview of what to expect, watch this video:

As well, here are some more videos of the aforementioned artists. Michael Kaeshammer's performance of "Lovelight"

Jill Barber's video of "Chances"

Voices United

2010-11-24T22:33:00.000-07:00

Greetings readers!

The weekend has come and past and with it was my second performance with Pro Coro. I have to say, my anxiety has greatly decreased performing with them for a second time. It's a good and bad thing. Good in that my shoulders are no longer tense from holding my music up, but also bad and that I wasn't singing as cleanly as I would have liked. However, it was a successful concert nonetheless.

In the concert the ladies performed a unpublished piece called "Voices of the Tenth Muse" by Patricia Van Ness. Initially, I wasn't a big fan of the music but it really challenged my perceptions of what kind of choral music can be beautiful. It merged ancient Greek text with dissonant 20th C writing. Many of the parts only deviated by one semitone so there were many crunchy chords and textures through the 3 movements we sang. The men of Pro Coro also sang some lovely Holst and male voice pieces. By far the highlight was performing with saxophonist, P.J. Perry for the Swedish pieces in our concert. That part of the program was like "traditional choir concert" meets "night time jazz club". He would play improv sax lines on top of the choral parts and the double bass would establish this amazing groove with the percussionist. We ended off with Lars Jansson's percussively show-stopping "To the Mother in Brazil." I think one of the most exciting things about singing with Pro Coro is the diverse repertoire and collaboration with other musicians. Normally, I never get the opportunity to perform music like this.

Now that the "Voices United" concert is finished it is time to look forward to the Christmas season! Also, you may be interested to know that my first video submission for the Virtual Choir is now on Youtube. Remember, you have until December 31, 2010 to join in on the action. See my previous post for details!

I may be kicking myself later for posting this video, however, maybe it'll give some of you confidence to make an entry for yourself, but here is my submission:

In all honesty, I wish I had the range to do what this guy did. He sang all 8 parts to Eric Whitacre "Sleep"!

The Approach of Christmas

2010-11-12T19:34:00.010-07:00

Greetings Readers!

I had no idea that my last post was my 100th post! Clearly, I'm not so great with keeping score of my own milestones. Oh well, 100 posts or not, I will continue on in my merry posting ways.

This past week in Belle Canto we started to prep for our upcoming Christmas concert. However, it's going to be relatively stress-free since Belle Canto is only singing one song. Belle Canto will be singing a piece called "Hymn to the Virgin" by Michael McGlynn. It's the typical pretty latin-chant Christmas piece so it should sound very pretty in the Winspear Centre. The rest of our pieces we will be singing with Chamber Choir or they will be mass choir pieces. Oh yes, and there will be audience carols as well. If there's anything I go on automatic singing pilot for, it's definitely audience carols. Don't get me wrong, I love audience carols, but there's only so many ways to sing Silent Night.

As I previously mentioned, we will be singing with Chamber Choir as well and this year we will jointly perform John Rutter's "Dancing Day." Chamber Choir usually cycles between Benjamin Britten's "Ceremony of Carol," William Mathias' "Salvator Mundi" and John Rutter's "Dancing Day" each Christmas and this year just happens to be a "Dancing Day" year. The last time we performed Dancing Day was not that long ago though, since we needed a piece to quickly fill the program when we found out the soloist, Nancy Argenta, would be unable to make it to our concert, but it is always an audience favorite so it's nice to have it back. I've posted a video of the King's College Choir singing "A Virgin Most Pure." It's not the Rutter arrangement but the video just looks so Christmassy-I just had to share.

Furthermore, next week is the second Pro Coro concert I'll be singing in! We had a rehearsal on Wednesday and for one of the pieces our conductor brought in a full keyboard and speaker so that our accompanist could play ocean synth noises. He stuck in his USB stick and uploaded the sound of squawking seagulls and squeaking dolphins. I have to say, it makes a pretty neat soundscape effect. Our voice parts are cascading vocal lines that weave in and out, to mimic the sound of the ocean wave on the shore, and the synth noises are played on top of it. However, I'll be surprised if I can sing that part with a straight face when I have the sound of giddy dolphins next to me. I suppose my true professionalism will be put to the test. Saxophonist, P.J. Perry, will also be doing lots of saxophone improv for the concert so it will be interesting to see how that all pulls together next week when he arrives from New York City. If you're interested in coming out to the concert, here are the details:

When: Sunday, November 21, 2010 @ 2:30 pm
Where: McDougall United Church
Tickets:$30 Adults, $25 Student/Senior
Tickets can be purchased here

Until next time, take care!

Therapeutic Music

2010-11-10T21:46:00.002-07:00

Greetings readers!

There is this student group at the University called "Therapeutic Music" and what they do is provide weekly-monthly concerts at local nursing homes in the Edmonton area. They usually provide concerts for those with dementia and they accept musicians of all skill levels to contribute to the musical program.

A friend of mine ended up joining this group in September and asked me if I'd be interested in doing a few songs with him at some point. I didn't hesitate since music therapy is exactly within my area of interest and I thought it would be an interesting opportunity to do a voice & acoustic guitar duet. You must understand, I never voluntarily sing solo repertoire. However, it's something I really should get better at. It is a great shame to be a musician but not be able to to share your music with others. Of course, recording music is great but the ability to perform live is a crucial skill every musician should have. The first concert in October didn't line up with my schedule but I was glad I was able to make it to the one this month. In September I did meet up with my friend to quickly run through two folk songs: "Arlington" by The Wailin' Jenny's and "Uniform Grey" by Sarah Harmer. That was the last time we saw each other until the concert.

I thought this was a good opportunity to try out solo singing in a supportive and low stress atmosphere. The last time I did any solo rep was when I had a solo line from John Rutter's "A Virgin Most Pure" from his Dancing Day Christmas set. Since I had that solo sprung upon me a few days before the actual performance, and due to the fact that it was at the Winspear Centre, anything else would seem less stressful in my eyes. I remember waiting for my entry from the harp, and I was about to come in early but, thankfully, my conductor made some serious eye contact with me and I waited until she brought me in to sing.

On the day of the Therapeutic Music performance, I was able to chat with some of the other musicians and listened to some nervous monologues about the upcoming performance. I guess I wasn't alone. There was a diverse set of instruments: some piano players, a violin player, a cello duet, a flautist, two acoustic guitar players and different combinations of some of the previously mentioned musicians. Overall, it was a concise one hour program. Due to a program swap, I ended up going first with my acoustic guitar partner-in-crime and our two songs were short and sweet. I was thankful for his supportive presence next to me on the piano bench. However, I cursed the fact that my nerves wouldn't allow me to get a good breath in for the first few phrases of "Arlington" so I had that nervous breath vibrato. Gross. But I was happy that my respiratory system settled down throughout the piece. By the time "Uniform Grey" arrived, I was in control again. Not bad, not bad at all. There is a glimmer of hope for me after all. I think the thing with choir solo's is that there is no time to settle in. By the time you're getting comfortable, your line is over, and it's time for the next song.

The whole concert was just nice and intimate. All the residents were sitting in faded pastel recliners and pudgy couches, looking slightly drowsy, and my fellow musicians were sitting on the ground against the walls. Overall, it was a positive experience for me and a good opportunity to see how my voice fares in solo"ish" settings. It's definitely weird not having to blend with another voice. I'm not used to doing things with my voice and having those little quirks be heard. Those details rarely ever emerge out of a choral fabric when only one person is doing it.

I'll take this time to say thanks to my friend who made it possible for me to explore some of my solo capabilities! I have a feeling this won't be the first or last time I perform with this group.

Until next time, take care readers!

An Update of Sorts

2010-11-07T21:21:00.008-07:00

Greetings readers!

Since my last blog post, I've had a wide array of music related things happen:

Virtual Choir

Last weekend I tried video recording my entry for the virtual choir. Let me tell you, following a virtual conductor is tricky business! On my first run-through I was either a few beats slow or ahead and it was extremely challenging to line up with his conducting video! I'm so used to watching a conductor's lips but he doesn't mouth any of the words so I can't use visual word cues as a checkpoint. He also pulled out some conducting codes I wasn't expecting, thankfully, I watched his instructional video and was able to deduce what he wanted when he used it. He puts his hand in front of his mouth and rubs his fingertips together, it kind of reminds me of what I imagine my friend's Indian grandma does when she asks you if you want something to eat, but in this case, he actually just wants you to bring out the diction. He is also very generous with timing in his artistic conducting style. He employs a lot of wispy arm movements and it's hard to locate the downbeat sometimes. However, it was easier after a few runs but then I was running into computer glitches that prevented me from recording a solid take. I'm hoping to have another run at it this coming weekend when I have a long weekend break from school.

Pro Coro

I had my first rehearsal for the Male and Female voice concert happening on November 21 two weeks ago. They had trouble getting music in on time so the first time I read the scores was at the first rehearsal. Oh, sight-reading... It was actually fine since the music was pretty straightforward. I think by far one of my favorite parts of going to Pro Coro rehearsals is listening to Jeremy Spurgeon play piano. As I have said before, Jeremy is pretty much the organ deity of Edmonton. Though he was playing piano and not organ for our rehearsals, it was a treat to watch his sight reading genius unfold at the keyboard.

Alumni Choir Tour

Back in July 2002 I competed in the International Choral Eisteddfod in Wales, UK. I received an e-mail from my conductor, Heather, where she detailed the hopes of assembling an Alumni Choir to join with her current Chamber Choir to compete in classes again the Eisteddfod. She invited those 25 years of age and younger to tour with her for the summer. She wants to compete in six classes at the festival: Senior Children's Choir (18 and under), Youth Choir (16-25), Female Choirs, Folk Choirs, Chamber Choirs, and Songs from Shows-Musical Theatre (16 and over). Three of those classes do not have any age restrictions: Female Choirs, Folk Choirs, and Chamber Choirs. I knew I scheduled in a summer for myself for a reason! Most of my classmates are doing placements throughout the summer but I decided to extend the length of my placements into 2012 (most of my classmates finish in December 2011) so I booked off June-August to finish up my thesis and take a break.

My conductor said that we would be rehearsing in the last few weeks of June and then go on tour in early July to attend the festival. In a way, I feel like it would be making up for the fact that I was not able to go on tour to Italy with Belle Canto. Plus, this Alumni Tour would also be a chance for me to reunite with my A Capella group "Con Fuoco" which is comprised of my choral soulmates. Of course, the fine details that will make this tour a reality such as funding, grants, etc. have yet to be finalized. However, this Alumni tour is a most appealing prospect!

It was such a memorable tour in 2002. Some memories which are coming to mind are those of the delicious Welsh tea biscuits, walking in an opening ceremony parade throughout the town, taping up paper to cover up the windows on the door in the very public common room we were all sleeping in, watching male volunteers and choristers continuously pursue a modelesque girl in our choir, having to take showers at the pool since there weren't enough bathrooms at the campus-like facilities we stayed in. Though it seems like the negative things are coming to mind in my memory retrieval process, those are the best memories since I just laugh at them looking back on it now.

Until next time, take care readers!

Behind the Scenes of Tongue Talk

2010-10-26T19:53:00.008-06:00

Greetings readers!

Although this isn't a choral related post, it is definitely a music related post. Recently, in my faculty, they posted a Rehabilitation Medicine Video Contest and I thought it would be fun if some classmates and I made a video for it. I suggested the idea to a few friends to do something like a music video or rap detailing what exactly Speech-Language Pathologists do and they were eager to participate. Our video didn't cover all the disciplines of Rehabilitation Medicine but we thought it was high time we detailed what Speech Pathologists actually do. We feel that the general public knows more about Physical Therapists and Occupational Therapists as a whole and most people still think that Speech Pathologists only correct stuttering.

The project didn't really take off until Candace started brainstorming lyrics to Ke$ha's "Tik Tok" one evening in a Facebook thread and we just went wild from there. I found an instrumental track to "Tik Tok" so we wouldn't have to sing over Ke$ha's vocals and the next few days Salima and Candace figured out the lyrics, we went to Fabricland to purchase foam and pink material to make a tongue costume, and Candace and Christina developed the dance sequence that appears throughout the video. Then we recorded the song using Garageband that weekend and layered the voice tracks to compose our song. We also scripted out a video recording schedule for the next week since we wanted to recruit members of our class to participate and we also wanted to book time to get into the Speech lab to use the equipment and the soundproof booth.

On Tuesday, we shot all of our Speech lab footage and most of the footage around Corbett Hall, which is the home of the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Alberta campus (it's where we have all our classes and spend most of our time). That same Wednesday we shot all the footage of our class as a whole in the classroom we have most of our classes in and we also taught them the dance sequence. I played the song from my iPhone as we danced on the front lawn of Corbett Hall and recorded the sequence. The next few days we just needed to fill random clips in the video and record the dance sequence in the largest lecture theatre inside Corbett Hall. It's where the Occupational Therapists have most of their classes so we were lucky that it was empty when we decided to film.

The following week was the crazy editing week and Christina did a stellar job. We also had midterms and assignments but I think our fun video project kept us sane. After each day of shooting, Christina was so excited to start working on the footage that after the first day she put together a ton of sequences so we could see the video take shape. We would lose track of the time working on the video since we would start on it after class at 5:30 pm and it would be 9 pm before we knew it! It was meticulous work since we had to splice down the clips and each 0.5 second made a huge difference in the video, especially since we were trying to line up our lips and our dance. I applaud Christina for the amazing job that she did!

We were able to submit our video by the October 15, 2010 deadline and we also screened the video for our class that Friday. From the large amounts of laughter I heard, I think they liked it.

Then we just had to wait. The video had to be screened by a panel of faculty and students before the finalists were chosen to be put on the Rehab Med Youtube Page. We heard back yesterday that we made it into the finals and today the video was uploaded to Youtube. The video with the most views by January 29, 2011 wins $1000 so view the video multiple times and share it with your friends! Often, the Speech students have a reputation for being uninvolved in the Faculty and I hope that this video works to change people's perceptions about us. It was a something we had a lot of fun doing and I hope that people can enjoy the video and maybe learn more about what SLPs do in the process. I just want to say thanks to Christina, Salima, and Candace for being such amazing people to work with! I was often incapacitated with laughter during the filming of this video.

Enjoy the video below!

Lyrics:

Wake up in the morning
Feeling like a speechie
Got my classes, got my books
Gonna help this city
When I leave I will have my Master's degree
In SLP, speech-language pathology

I'm talking, talking all day long
Getting my communication on
Finding out what's wrong
We've got a preoccupation
With speech language and communication
Stuttered speech & swallowing
We so ballin'

CHORUS:
Don't stop keep it steady
Please say 'ah' when you're ready
Pa ta ka as fast as you can
DDK's are the plan
Tongue depressor and pen light
We'll treat you right
Ah-ah-ah-ah
Ah-ah-ah-ah

Don't stop, we're not done
SLPs are so much fun
Visipitch, PERCI
are definitely the key
Dear client see this hose
Please put it up your nose
Pa-pa-pa-pa
Pa-pa-pa-pa

Ain't got a care in the world, but got plenty of peers
I got PTs on my speed dial
And OTs are so near
Now the clients are lining up
Cuz they hear we got skills
Rehab Med's got their backs
Like nobody wills

I'm talking have you had a stroke?
Do you tend to choke?
Is your child talking late?
Call us, don't hesitate
We'll help you get your shout out
That's what we're about
Stutter got you down?
Don't you frown!

Chorus x2

We screen your ears
You raise your hand
Red, Right, Round
Yeah yeah we got this
I put my tongue up
You put your tongue up
You put your tongue up

PURSUING YOUR BEST IS WHAT WE DO!
Phonology
And AAC
Disordered voice
and aphasia
I cue your sound
I slide my snake
You slide your snake

Chorus x 2

I Must Have Done Something Right

2010-10-21T00:12:00.009-06:00

Greetings readers!

In the past week or so I have been fending off a nasty bug that has been going around but I am glad to say that it is on its way out. I am regaining my voice and resonance but it was one of those cases where I had to let the sickness take its course. I am just glad I didn't have any singing commitments during that time. I'm not sure if any of you have magical remedies for warding off vocal sickness, but if so, leave me your wisdom in the comments section.

In the meantime, I must have done something right for that first Pro Coro concert because I'm officially signed on for three more concerts in their regular season! One this coming November, December, and one in March of the new year. I was ecstatic to make the cut and get some more opportunities to sing with the group!

The November concert will feature male and female choral voices with separate works and there will also be some mixed chorus repertoire. PJ Perry is also playing some improv saxophone with the group. I've never really sung with a saxophonist so it will definitely be a new experience for me. I am always in awe of improv musicians since my anal-retentive choral upbringing makes it hard for me to stray musically from the page, however, I'm always looking for more way to expand my musical horizons. I start rehearsals for the November concert next week.

The December concert is their traditional Christmas concert which, as the website informs me, will have: "Old and new festive music and audience participation." I can hear the audience carols already. I'm slightly wary of December already since I'll still be singing with Belle Canto, I'll be doing carolings gigs, Pro Coro has a full set of rehearsals, I'll also be working another retail part-time job as well as finishing up my coursework and finals for my Master's program. No matter. I always get it done in the end and I like feeling productive! Stressing about it in October really isn't going to help me :)

Their March concert is a special one for Pro Coro since it is a celebration of their 3oth season. The original Pro Coro founder, Michel Gervais, will be coming back to conduct the Founder's Concert and I just find it extremely impressive that this group was formed back in 1980! It's not easy to develop, fund, and sustain a professional choir in Alberta but Pro Coro has managed to do it and the arts culture in Edmonton has benefited greatly from the investment.

Therefore, I hope to be posting regular rehearsal entries starting again next week when my voice is functioning again. However, if I'm sounding better by this weekend, I'm hoping to start working on my Virtual Choir submission. I have a new Blue microphone and I've been dying to try it out.

Until next time, take care!

Sing With Me! The Virtual Choir Project

2010-10-10T20:06:00.006-06:00

Greetings readers!

If you haven't already heard the buzz around choral cyber space... Eric Whitacre has begun his second Virtual Choir project. I completely missed the boat the first time around and I definitely am not going to let it happen again this time!

His blog outlines the steps but allow me to provide a summary:

Pick a part (SATB) to his composition, Sleep
Sign-up with your e-mail address
Download the sheet music
Watch his handy dandy instructional Youtube video on how he wants it performed
Learn the music (it's pretty straightforward, lots of sustained vowels) but you can always listen to the song via the virtual music player on his website if you learn best by ear
Video & audio record yourself singing that part (wearing black) while watching Mr. Whitacre (with his Harlequin Romance good looks) conducting the track
Upload the video to Youtube
Voilà! You're a part of the virtual choir!

Of course, Whitacre and his team (thanks Tony!) do go through the videos and they're trying to get at least 900 people to set a world record. Make sure to have your entry in before December 31, 2010. Set aside your insecurities about your voice, your age, your choral skill level and whatever else might be holding you back and just take this opportunity to be a part of something truly amazing and unique!

I just think this whole project is extremely exiting! It is a project to connect voices through social media! How often do we all get the chance to sing together? I would love to sing with all my blog readers and this virtual choir is the perfect opportunity for that to happen. They also have a cool google earth application that maps where all the singers have come from! Thus, I urge you to take the time to sign up and record yourself. We can be united in a virtual choir with 900+ other voices and create some beautiful music while doing it.

I'm hoping to get my entry up soon. I'm currently trying to locate/purchase a better microphone than the one built into my laptop.

To learn more check out this video!

I hope to be singing with you all in the near future!

Making the Cut

2010-10-03T20:30:00.007-06:00

Greetings!

Sorry for the delayed update! Strangely enough, I thought that by joining another choir I would have so much more to blog about, and I do, but I greatly underestimated the amount of time it would take! The past few weeks have been a haze of rehearsals and schoolwork. I spend my days 9-530 pm in class and then I have a bit of time before rehearsal starts at 7 pm. I had up to 4 rehearsals a week and I definitely could feel my body fatigue to the amount of rehearsal and mental intensity that was required of me. I applaud the stamina of all musicians!

However, these rehearsals culminated to the concert I had with Pro Coro today. Everything went pretty smoothly, minus the fact that I slipped coming down a step and almost wiped out on stage! I was not being very careful walking down the polished wooden steps and I even thought to myself "I'm so going to slip on this step" and I did. The heard the audience gasp but I didn't actually fall so much as slip and then bounce back up to regain my footing. No damage done and I smirked at the fact that for my first professional choral experience I almost wiped out on stage. Classic!

During the past few weeks, I mainly focused on learning the notes and fitting my lines in with the other musical parts. However, I really wanted to focus on watching the conductor more for this concert. I find it difficult to watch the small nuances of the conductor when I'm still relying on the music heavily for notes and rhythms. However, that is the reality of a working choir, you never work on pieces long enough for them to become apart of you. Just when you start get comfortable with it to try some new things... it's time for the concert and time to move on to the next set of repertoire.

One thing that was really nice though was the personal acknowledgment from the choristers around me. It's something that they didn't have to do but it was nice that they did considering I was a new member. I always thought I would work past the stage of outsider awkwardness but it seems like that feeling of otherness never dissipates when you enter new environments. I was taken aback when the tenor standing behind me, who also happens to be the associate conductor, remarked that I was singing very well and I was taken aback at the fact that he could hear me. My sheet music is an extremely powerful sound reflector! Also, today during the quick run-through time before the concert, a soprano standing a person away from me turned to me after we finished running a section, introduced herself, asked me my name, and remarked on my lyrical performance of the text. That was nice of her!

It kind of sounds self-absorbed but I rarely hear vocal praise anymore. I just assume what I am doing is acceptable but it's been years since anybody has said anything about it to me. I do have to say, it's nice to be recognized and it was also nice to know that other people could hear my efforts to meet the high standards of the group. Upon being accepted into the group, I felt this overwhelming need to deliver when I signed my contract, and though I was in no ways perfect during the concert, I really felt like I was contributing my voice to the overall choral sound.

Overall, I'm glad I had this experience. It was a steep learning curve but I am extremely impressed with the kind of musical quality I was able to produce in only 7 rehearsals. I'm not sure how many other concerts I will be singing with Pro Coro but I'm guessing I will find out soon enough. I have a feeling this concert was testing out of the sound of a lot of the new choristers. We'll see if I make the cut!

Until next time, take care!

The Life of a Working Chorister

2010-09-19T15:11:00.007-06:00

Greetings!

It's back to the regular school routine for me but this year is a bit different since I have taken on some more extracurricular choral activities. I started Belle Canto rehearsals last Monday and I also started rehearsing with Pro Coro. Things were the same as usual for Belle Canto but Pro Coro was definitely a new experience since it was my first "professional" choir experience. The rehearsals were intense and it was also strange singing with some of my past conductors. I joked that it was like yesterday I was in their youth choir while today I'm singing in their section. They remarked that I am now their peer but I answered with a statement of self-deprecating disbelief.

I received the music a 2 weeks prior the rehearsal so I had time to look through the pieces: Brahm's Zieguenerlieder (Gypsy Songs) and Frank Martin's Mass. I tried my best to sightread them on my own, but it was tricky since it was difficult to rehearse my line when I didn't have the musical context of surrounding voices. I remedied this by listening to streaming audio clips from the Naxos' online music library and tried to follow along to my part as the song played. It worked well for the Brahm's and also gave me an idea of how fast the German text goes in some sections! I really like the Brahms though. It's a set of 11 love songs and many of them have an exotic gypsy tones and sense of musical "otherness" about them. The Rheinberger's "Cantus Missae" is also on the program and I just received the music at the first rehearsal. It's a gorgeous mass with many romantic sounding lines.

By far the most difficult piece to learn independently was the Martin Mass since the musical lines on their own don't make any sense. It's a 20th C mass so it can sound pretty messed up tonally. However, with the rest of the choir, it's starting to make a lot more sense to me. There are tritones galore throughout the whole mass which makes me smile since tritones were the "Devil's" note and its use was often avoided in early Church days. The Martin's Mass continues to challenge me despite having three rehearsals. Especially during the last two rehearsals since there were only two people singing my part (including me) and one singer wasn't able to make it to two rehearsals. We only have three voices singing our section. The choir numbers have been stretched out since it is a double choir piece so there are 8 parts with 3-5 voices on each part.

The first rehearsal was the most intense. I arrived at the rehearsal location, chatted with some choristers I sang with in the University Madrigal Singers, conductor Richard Sparks greeted us all at the front of the room, Jeremy, our accompanist (and local Edmonton organ deity), played a note, Sparks raised his hands and the downbeat was my Alto II part. The piece opens on an exposed "A" and we had three voices supporting it. Man, that was terrifying! I've never had to think so hard during rehearsals in a long time. I had to use all my choral tricks, writing down the interval relations before they come, circling my notes that other parts sing so I can store them in my auditory memory, numbering weird rhythms, continuous listening around me for any choral context to help me find my notes. I felt like I needed to do multiple things at once: add dynamics, sing with good breath support and tone, pencil in breath markings as Sparks rattled them off as fast as my school professors, and respond to the musical nuances in other lines.
My brain was scurrying to do these things in addition to finding my notes!

For the professionals around me, it was just another day at work. For me, it was like I was trying to beat more information into my brain but it just was taking. I could only incorporate one new thing at a time! As a chorister who has been singing for leisure for the past few years, it was a steep learning curve. The worse thing is when you see your part coming up and you have no idea what you note is, your eye gaze goes haywire as you attempt to search for a musical crutch from another line, and by the time you breathe to give it a blind try, you choke and no sound comes out. Meanwhile, the rest of the choir is already two bars ahead. However, I've been feeling exponentially more comfortable with each rehearsal and I'm starting to be able to appreciate the music much more rather than being paralyzed with fear when I see my upcoming notes. I strongly believe that if you surround yourself with experts, you learn so much faster since they're setting a high bar and it gives you the challenge of working up to their level. Without that stimulus, I wouldn't have had the motivation to get better.

Overall, I am quite impressed with how quickly I've adapted to the musical intensity and demands required of me. This was one of the main reasons I wanted to sing with Pro Coro. I feel like I have just been coasting in Belle Canto. It's comfortable and enjoyable but I no longer feel challenged. I wanted to see if I had the skills to perform with a professional group, and although I am still consolidating my place within the choir, I feel comforted by the fact that I am slowly adapting to this fast-paced musical lifestyle. I do not have another Pro Coro rehearsal until Saturday and after that I have three more rehearsals until the concert. It's a pretty condensed time frame! Over the next week I'll be working through some notes and trouble areas within the pieces so I can continue my prep for the concert on October 3rd. If you would like to listen to the first movement of Martin's Mass, Kyrie, try the video below. You can hear the exposed "A" that starts the piece!

To learn more about the music you can download the press release for the concert on Oct. 3.

Until next time, take care!

The Finale.

2010-09-06T18:05:00.011-06:00

Hello readers!

This afternoon marked the end of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra's Symphony Under the Sky Festival. It was a fantastic labour day weekend filled with food, friends, and music.

Today's concert was entitled "Great Canadian Songbook," and as the title suggests, it included works by Canadian artists (minus Tchaikovsky's but it's a festival tradition that the 1812 Overture is played at the end, so for today, Tchaikovsky is a token Canadian).

My mind is awash with Canadian tunes from this afternoon such as "Canada" by Bobby Gimby, "I will Play a Rhapsody" by Burton Cummings, "Snowbird" by Gene MacLellan, "Mon pays" by Gilles Vigneault, A Medley from The Happy Gang (from a show that is "before my time"), "Swingin' Shepard Blues," A Gordon Lightfoot Medley, "If I had a Million Dollars" by the Barenaked Ladies (which had a "ka-ching" sound effect played by the ESO's resident conductor, Lucas Waldin), Ian Tyson's "Four Strong Winds" (which I know from the Edmonton Folk Music Festival since it has turned into their anthem), "Don Messer's Fiddlin' Tunes," Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi", and "Heart of Gold" by Neil Young.

Many of the pieces, including the world premiere of the Mitchell and Young piece, were arranged by Red Deer composer, Claude Lapalme. Lapalme also educated the audience about what things to listen for, such as particular instrumental sounds. An anvil-like percussion played throughout the Young piece to symbolize the metallic core of the "Heart of Gold" and he integrated 2 more "Yellow-titled" melodies within Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi," such as "The Yellow Submarine."

The Lapalme pieces were not the only world premiere pieces since Sean Doherty premiered his original work entitled "Rainstorm" as well. He was chosen through the ESO's Young Composers project to write an orchestral work. Props to Doherty who composed a beautifully textured storm piece! It was more of a soundscape rather than an opulent orchestral piece and it fitted the outdoor ambiance of the festival extremely well. The piece began and finished with the sound of the harp and vibraphone playing a singular note to echo the falling rain while the rest of the orchestra created the effect of a brewing and receding storm.

The afternoon concluded with a festival favorite, Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, which was complete with members of the 20th Field Regiment of the Royal Canadian Artillery firing the cannons at the end.

In my mind, this festival signals the end of the summer and the beginning of Fall since the start of school is only a few days away for me. My summer holiday is now officially coming to a close but it'll be nice to be back at choir rehearsal!

Enjoy some more pictures below!

The audience is assembling.

Instruments but no musicians on stage yet

Nora Bumanis warming up on the harp

The 20th field regiment of the Royal Canadian Artillery

Chilling out and waiting for the concert to start

John Williams + ESO= Love.

2010-09-04T22:18:00.015-06:00

It was another lovely evening out at the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra's Symphony Under the Sky tonight. Don't get me wrong, the weather was questionable beforehand (there was a misty drizzle in the late afternoon), and it was pretty chilly, but the concert remained outdoors. It didn't rain for much longer after they opened the gates at 6pm and some Star Wars characters even made their way out into the crowd to mingle with the audience in support of the movie themed evening.

The repertoire from tonight's concert was either written by John Williams or at least arranged by him. The man behind epic film scores such as Superman, Harry Potter, Star Wars, E.T., Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Schindler's List (just to name a few) produces film music nothing short of spectacular. Conductor Bob Bernhardt cracked a joke stating that although Beethoven is famous for the first 4 notes of Symphony No. 5, John Williams has him beat by 2 notes since the famous opening of Jaws only needs 2 notes for instant recognition.

The evening began with a march from Superman. I didn't recognize it personally but there was an avid group of Engineering students near me that were clutching their lawn chairs with great fervor while listening to the music. Superman's march was followed by "Sayuri's Theme" from Memoirs of a Geisha. Probably not one of Williams' most iconic themes, however, I liked how the ESO incorporated a program that showcased the diverse scores that Williams tackled in his career. "Flight to Neverland" from Hook had a lovely soaring quality and it was a refreshing change for the sun make an appearance during the piece.

Following this was possibly one of the main highlights of the concert: three movements from Schindler's List. Karen Gomyo, from the previous night, was the violin soloist yet again (props to the ESO for making efficient use of their soloist) for "Jewish Town", "Remembrances" and the "Main Theme," which is the one that most people will recognize. It's hard to describe the music that was generated from the stage. Gomyo had such an evenly pressured and fluid bowing technique that the musical lines she created were just seamless and her tone never wavered no matter high the frequency. It was just exquisite. Selections from Jurassic Park followed Schindler's List before the intermission.

"Harry's Wondrous World" from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was a lovely reintroduction to the concert after the intermission. I've almost forgotten how much of a role Harry Potter had in the formative years of my adolescence but hearing the music again reminded me. After the 7th book, I have felt my passion for the series dwindle, it didn't helped that they pushed back the date of the last film and split it into 2 movies. It feels like they're dragging out the inevitable. Gomyo came back out again to play a Williams arrangement of "Fiddler on the Roof" from Jerry Bock's musical score and "Por Una Cabeza" which was also a William arrangement. These two pieces were another highlight of the evening. Gomyo performed with a very playful and seductive quality and she received a well-deserved standing ovation at the end of each of them.

The rest of the program were pretty much the greatest hits from Star Wars: "The Flag Parade" and "Anakin's Theme" from Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace, and "The Imperial March" and the "Throne Room and End Title" from Star Wars IV: A New Hope. I think the latter 2 pieces especially since they showcase all the iconic tunes from Star Wars. Especially the "Throne room and End Title" which is pretty much a reprise of all the major musical themes from the film. During the last piece, the Star Wars characters which were mingling throughout the park beforehand, came back out to form a unified front facing the audience as their themes played behind them. Now I feel like watching Star Wars!

Overall, it was a chilly evening out but it's worth it when you have wonderful music keeping you company. They will be playing an evening of Billy Joel and Elton John piano tunes tomorrow night but I won't be back at the park until Monday afternoon when they have a program of Canadian-centric tunes.

Enjoy some more pictures below!

It was hard to resist a picture with some Star Wars icons

The bounty hunter was awesome. They always posed with their double pistols. I also like how it looks like they're chasing after the little girl.

Staying dry from the rain

Staying warm on the grass before the concert

If you look closely you can see the unified Star Wars front

Opening Night

2010-09-03T23:23:00.013-06:00

Today was the start of the Edmonton Symphony's Orchestra's Symphony under the Sky Festival! If this is news to you, feel free to read my concert previews in a previous post here.

The evening did not disappoint. The weather was lovely and warm (even after the sun set). There were lots of delicious food vendor options. Tis' the last chance to purchase hotdogs, mini donuts, and lemonade in a festival atmosphere. The music, apart from some mic issues, was pleasant and well-executed.

The program tonight included Bach's Fuge a la gigue in G Major which was light and dancy. This was followed by Bach's Sheep May Safely Graze which reminds me of Christmas and vocal memories of tense solo soprano singing in children's choirs. The violin melody did not sound vocally tense to me... it's just my own personal memories. Following these pieces was Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2 in G minor op. 63. The violin soloist was Karen Gomyo playing on a Stradivarus violin which was purchased by a private sponsor. Upon reading that in the program, I tweeted a message saying that I wished I had a private sponsor :) Gomyo was dressed in a long flowing red gown and played with flexibility and sensitivity. I often find violin players extremely stiff but her body was willowy and responsive to the musical workings of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra behind her. She really showed her technical prowess in the last movement of the concerto which elicited a warm round of applause and standing ovations at the end.

Following intermission, two quick musical themes from Beethoven's Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21 were introduced by the conductor, Bob Bernhardt, so that the audience could listen for them. He played an excerpt from the "Menuetto" movement and noted that Beethoven's version, though in 3/4 time, wouldn't have been danceable due to its quick pace. Therefore, it was renamed as a "Scherzo" which means "joke" in Italian (as pointed out to me in the program). As well, though the piece is supposed to be in C Major, the first movement actually begins with a dominant-tonic chord sequence in the wrong key. Oh, Beethoven, you jokester! The evening was topped off with Brahms' Hungarian Dance No. 5 and No. 6. Brahms' Hungarian Dance No. 5 has been a musical favorite of mine for a long time. Back when there was Napster, it was one of the first classical songs I downloaded!

Tomorrow I'm heading out again to listen to the film scores of John Williams! I've posted some photos of my evening below. Enjoy!

I received a special blogger nametag!

Nadia in line for mini donuts. The staff were all wearing white collared shirts and black bow-ties :)

Nadia with her veggie dog from Fat Franks.

The evening lights under the amphitheatre tent at the festival

It's Symphony Time!

2010-09-02T11:45:00.014-06:00

Hello readers!

It's one of my favorite times of the year this weekend: it's the Symphony Under the Sky festival! I've been going to this annual event for many years now and there's nothing that can beat the outdoor ambiance of a symphony concert. The lawn chairs come out, you consume salty popcorn, and eat smokies from the hot dog vendor. Delicious times! Oh yes, and the music is excellent as well. The vibe is just so relaxed that it's a great event to come to even if you're not equipped with an arsenal of musical knowledge. Music should just be enjoyed by everybody! You're really attending for the atmosphere and the music plays in integral role in creating that atmosphere.

Here are some highlights I'm looking forward to this weekend:

September 3-Friday evening-Bach, Beethoven and Brahms

The first night always is a pleasant classical concert. Nothing too intense, just a set list of enjoyable music. On the program for this evening is Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2, Beethoven’s First Symphony, and Brahms' Hungarian Dances No. 5 & 6 (one of my favorites!) and Bach's Sheep May Safely Graze (which will remind me of Christmas since I always hear this song at Christmas).

September 4-Saturday evening: John Williams' Greatest Hits

I've always been an avid fan of movie music. Music is essentially another character in a film so it's crucial that it is well constructed and suited to the movie's overall theme. It'll be an evening filled with John Williams' tunes such as Superman, Schindler’s List, Star Wars, and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. I'm looking forward to this evening greatly!

September 5-Sunday evening: The Piano Men

I won't be attending this concert but the tunes of Billy Joel and Elton John will be heard throughout the evening. If you do go, you will hear the tunes: Candle in the Wind, Rocket Man, Movin’ Out, Just the Way You Are, Piano Man, and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road with piano and symphonic back-up. Should be a great night, let me know how it is if you go!

September 6-Monday afternoon: Great Canadian Songbook

Ah, my favorite event to go to on Labour Day Monday. The Royal Canadian Artillery will shoot guns in Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture during the finale and I will be sure to have my bells/keys ready to shake at the end of the piece as the audience plays a helping role in echoing the victory bells heard throughout Moscow. I'm also interested to hear what other "Canadian hits" I will recognize. Four Strong Winds, Snowbird, Big Yellow Taxi and Heart of Gold are on the program. I know Four Strong Winds but not the other mentioned pieces. I hope to be pleasantly surprised!

It's a very exciting line-up they have for the weekend. There are also afternoon concerts on Saturday and Sunday which you can check-out on their website.

If you want to learn more, just listen to conductor, Bob Bernhardt, and what he has to say about the festival line-up!

Tickets: Available at their box office 780-428-1414 or on their website.

Hope to see you at the festival if you happen to be in Edmonton!

I'll also be live tweeting from the event so you can follow me here if you wish!

Until next time, take care!

"the Artist"

2010-09-01T00:47:00.010-06:00

Hello readers!

As promised, I will keep you up-to-date on my choral duties since I have been accepted as a substitute member for Pro Coro! It's my first brush with a professional group, and in this case, I mean professional in the sense that I will be paid. This is a new experience for me!

The first surprise came in the mail a few days ago: my contract! I eagerly opened it and the first thing I saw was my name and "the Artist" in brackets after it. Wow, I've never thought of myself as an "Artist" before! I know it's probably just another generic arts term but it was a term I have never seen attached to my name. It was scary but cool to see that term printed next to my name! After that initial shock wore off, it was just strange having a contract. It outlined various things I would normally do anyway if I was in a choir---showing up for performances, not being late for rehearsal, learning the music etc. but it just made it so much more real to see all those terms written down. The main thing that made my heart panic was the fact that I would need to provide my own uniform. A long sleeved floor length black velvet gown. Where the heck would I obtain something like that!?!?!

I wasn't about to go out spend $100s of dollars for an American choir uniform company to ship me some generic dress that I would have to hem myself anyway! Who knows how many concerts I will be singing at! Maybe this would be my first and last concert with them. It just doesn't make sense to make that kind of investment now. Where would I find a black velvet gown? I have to say, velvet is something not readily stocked in mainstream stores. Maybe I could try a thrift store? an mature lady's store at the mall? I was low on ideas. No matter what, I would need to start hunting. I googled to the far recesses of the internet abyss and came up with a few options but I was resistant to order them even after measuring myself numerous times with a tape measure and looking at individual sizing guides. I cursed the fact that my measurements didn't clearly fall into a specific category. I had a waist measurements for one size but the hip measurements for a completely different size. Oh, the woes of acquiring a uniform! I've gotten use to the luxury of having uniforms provided for me where all I would need to do is pay a rental fee. I called my mother explaining my predicament in an exasperated tone. In order to placate me she said that it wouldn't be that hard to make and that we could just buy some cheap Halloween costume type velvet and she could sew one. Essentially, it would end up looking like a tube with sleeves. Yay! I would not be on the stage naked! Thanks Mom!

However, as a back-up, I also defaulted to an extremely handy tool: Twitter. I posted a message inquiring whether anybody had any ideas of where I could find a velvet gown. After a teasing reply from my sister asking me if the dress was in an effort to realize my dream of becoming a nun, I was delighted to get a response back from my friend Christina. She asked me if I would be interested in a velvet tent. I was slightly confused by the message and started to imagine a velvet dress with scoopy draping. When I did see her in person where she explained the fit of the dress and how it was made for her (for another choir she was in)... I began to have hope. It sounded like a dress that was specifically designed to be a uniform! We are roughly the same height, I'm a tad bit shorter and she says the dress is very forgiving fit-wise. She confessed that since the fabric is so stretchy she even wore a snowsuit under it one year when she had to carol outside in it. She promised to bring it for me the next day. She wanted me to try it right away so I put it on while at a Starbucks to see the fit. Also, I didn't go into the bathroom. I just put it on over my leather jacket and jeans. Christina and another friend dissolved into hysterical laughter---watching me wiggle my way into the dress while out in public. It actually fit pretty well! I required some help taking it off since it was sticking to my jacket so I had to raise my hands and get Christina to peel it off of me. Good times!

Upon arriving home, my mom was relieved to see that I had found another option. She looked at the dress and said the velvet is a lot nicer than the cheaper costume velvet we had in mind. I was glad to have another thing off my mind since the last thing I need to do is run around searching for a velvet gown.

The next thing will be learning the music for the Pro Coro! I just picked it up today so I will update you on my progress while I learn it!

Until next time, take care!