Pro Coro's new Artistic Director: Michael Zaugg

Greetings readers!

If you've been disconnected to the social media world this evening, you may like to know that the new Artistic Director of Pro Coro is: Michael Zaugg!

Most media outlets were blitzed tonight with the news. Edmonton Journal has a nice and comprehensive entry. Zaugg's personal webpage has been updated with the news. As well, a Sound and Noise article.

When did I officially find out? This evening... like everybody else. I know, right? You would think I would have find out earlier since I'm a chorister, but the selection committee a did a pretty good job of keeping it under wraps.

It's strange since the marriage metaphor that Zaugg offered in his initial rehearsal held true even today. Since I had no confirmation on who was the new conductor was--- I felt like I was like bracing myself for an arranged marriage. A bit of apprehension with a touch of fear but, overall, a neutral acceptance with whatever the outcome since all three candidates were fantastic. However, Pro Coro singing "Lux Aeterna" with Zaugg again just felt... right. It was a musical teaser for the audience as well as the choir to have that short performance opportunity with Zaugg during the media event. The Pro Coro 2012/2013 season cannot come soon enough. That is, if I'm accepted into the choir again upon re-audition :)

At the media event, Zaugg elaborated on his vision for Pro Coro's future: more touring opportunities, being present in the local, national and international music scene, collaborating with other artists for choral projects whether it be with dancers or painters, and singing an appetizing array of repertoire. I'm so buzzed for the potential the future holds! Take a look at a video from the event with Zaugg detailing his vision. At the end of the video is also a clip from Pro Coro singing "Lux Aeterna."

Until next time, take care readers!

Pending: Pro Coro's Artistic Director Announcement

Greetings readers,

I usually don't use my blog as an events listing; however, I thought that Pro Coro announcing its new Artistic Director would be a good reason to make an exception. Following an 18 month search (and a series of blog posts detailing my rehearsal process with each of the candidates), this Friday will the announcement of Pro Coro's new Artistic Director and Principal Conductor. It will either be Magen Solomon from San Francisco, Mark Bailey from New Haven, or Michael Zaugg from Montreal.

I cannot even textually emote how excited I am. 

:) hm, too fake?

:o hm, too shocked?

:D hm, too happy?

You'll just have to find out on Friday ;)

The new Artistic Director will be present to perform with Pro Coro as well as answer questions. If you are free, you should definitely come see for yourself who the new conductor is. Details are as follows:

Friday, February 3, 2012 @ 6:30 PM

PCL Hall, 5th Floor, Alberta College

10050 MacDonald Drive, Edmonton

Hope to see some of you there!

Until next time readers, take care!

The Waiting Period

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! Here is a video clip from "Auringon Noustessa" from the concert.

Let Singers Sing

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

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!

Connecting

 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

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

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

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!