Ten Years to this Day

I am a singer.

There have been many moments in my life where I have wavered on accepting this title. But after 10 years of blogging, and over 20 years of choral singing, I know that who I am at my core is a singer. It is a huge component of my identity. Singing is an expressive means for me to communicate. While it is my pleasure to work with patients on discovering their communicative voice as a Speech-Language Pathologist, singing has always been and will continue to be my expressive mode of communication.

There is a overwhelming gratitude I feel towards the blog for holding me accountable to my passion: choral music. For the past 10 years, I have shared my thoughts while going through an artistic process and relayed these discoveries with my readers. In recent years, the blog has also developed into a platform where I am able to share the work of other singers, composers, conductors, organizations, and choirs as well. It is staggering to articulate the significance this blog has served for me, as well as others, over this past decade. I have enjoyed looking through my posts and photos to assemble some of my favorite moments. It's also exciting to look towards the future and contemplate what new projects, pieces of repertoire, singers, conductors, and composers I haven't yet had the pleasure of meeting.

Please enjoy this anniversary post and my apologies in advance since I'm certain people have been missed from this sampling of content. Regardless, thank-you, dear readers, for continuing to read my choral musings.

10 Year anniversary by Sable C

Listed below are 20 significant posts on The Choir Girl Blog over the past 10 year. Many of them signal a change in my role as an artist, thinking, or direction at each chronological time point in the blog.


1. Camp: A Rite of Passage

2. We'll Sing Anywhere

3. Choir Uniforms Do's and Don'ts

4. Arrival of the Virtual Choir 2.0

5. ESO Reviews

6. Making the Cut

7. Sh*t Choristers Say-An Interview with the Vancouver Cantata Singers

8. Tweet Me. Embracing Social Media at Podium 2012

9. Opera Girl

10. Painting the Nightingale

11. The Culture of Fear in Rehearsals 

12. Epilogue: Life after the Circus  

13. Dear, Opera Chorus

14. Backstage at Madama Butterfly 

15. I'm a bit of a hippie: An Interview with Cy Giacomin 

16. Interview with the Queen of the Night and Sarastro, Teiya Kasahara and Neil Craighead 

17. Podium 2016 Social Media Team  

18. National Youth Choir Class of 2016  

19. An Interview with Jane Berry 

20. The Formation of FEMME

A Christmas Update

Greetings readers,

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

It's hard to keep this in mind when I find myself becoming a bit of a hypochondriac. Every cough or sniffle reminds me of my proximity to sickness. With a calendar filled with singing commitments, I know this is definitely NOT the time to be sick.

So far so good.

Pro Coro had a Christmas concert in Sherwood Park at the start of this month where we resurrected some familiar songs from our 'Once Upon a Time' concert (by the way, that concert is available for your streaming pleasure on CBC Music at this link). Our Sherwood Park concert was a good chance to sing through our Christmas repertoire for our larger Christmas concert at the Winspear Centre this Sunday. Some of the works on the programme is Benjamin Britten's "Ceremony of Carols," which is a choral favorite of mine from my treble choir years, Chilcott's "Rose in the Middle of Winter," Whitacre's "Lux Aurumque," and Nickel's "Creator Alme Siderum." Nickel's piece was premiered by Pro Coro two seasons ago. The Pro Coro concert out in Sherwood park was intimate and the audience was extremely appreciative. While it was a draining process to prepare with consecutive rehearsals from Sunday to Wednesday and braving the snowy commute to Sherwood Park, it was nice to share our music with a different audience.

Backstage at Festival Place in Sherwood Park

This is also my first Christmas where I don't have any academic obligations. No Master's thesis defense, no thesis edits, no final exam studying, no scrambling to finish up paperwork for clinical placements... it actually has resulted in a really manageable season. I only sing when I want to sing. It's a luxury I haven't had in the past. I was able to pick up a few caroling gigs with my previous women's choir, Belle Canto, which included singing at some lovely venues, such as Fort Edmonton Park. There's something about caroling inside while the snow softly drifts outside upon historical Edmonton houses from 1905. I sang with some ladies which I haven't seen since Ottawa when we were at the Podium choir conference in May. There is just something so comforting when you are singing amongst familiar voices. I even saw some friendly audience faces: a fellow Pro Coro chorister singing at the historical church down the street and a friend from University who was working at Fort Edmonton. During my break, she tried to convince me to sit on "Father Christmas'" lap, I declined once I learned that Father Christmas was actually younger than me.

I even had the time to take in some Christmas concerts. One being the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra performance of Handel's "Messiah" with the University of Alberta Madrigal Singers, Alumni, and members of Richard Eaton Singers. The other concert was the Cantilon Choirs' "Dancing Day" concert. It was my first time ever watching a Cantilon Christmas concert and not singing in it. I was surprised at how relaxing it is was being on the other side of the stage as an audience member. The first half was structured more like a Christmas pageant highlighting carols from around the world and the second half included Rutter's "Dancing Day" performed by Belle Canto and the Cantilon Chamber Choir. It was fitting since the Chamber Choir just released their Christmas c.d. "The Time of Snow," where they recorded "Dancing Day." One of my favorite parts was the audience carols since it meant that I got to be conducted by Heather Johnson once again. When she gestures... I sing. I don't think that my programmed chorister discipline will ever escape me.

Cantilon Choirs' Dancing Day Concert

My Christmas singing obligations come to a close this Sunday for Pro Coro's Family Christmas concert. If you are in town, I recommend you come out to hear the harp playing of Keri Lynn Zwicker, Jeremy Spurgeon at the organ, Tommy Banks narrating "The Little Match Girl," and the voices of my fellow Pro Coro singers filling the hall with Christmas cheer.

Until next time readers, have a happy holidays!

Sunday, December 16, 2012 at 2:30 PM
Tickets available at the Winspear Box Office (780-428-1414)

A New Choir Girl Season

Greetings readers,

Is is the start of a new musical season and it is going to be a busy one. I have already started rehearsals with the Ordo Collective. Next weekend, I will be reprising my role as the Virtue of Charity and Modesty in Victoria and Vancouver on Sept 15 & 16. Clearly, I performed adequately enough in the Spring to participate in this project yet again. Furthermore, I received an Edmonton Arts Council Travel Grant to participate in this project! A Choir Girl receiving arts funding? I feel like a true artist now.

Pro Coro rehearsals also begin tomorrow evening. I'm sure I will have many colourful posts to provide throughout the process. Pro Coro will be singing the Canadian premiere of Praulins's "The Nightingale." It is a work that is terrifying and amazing at the same time. I know it must be good when it elicits such a strong reaction. One of my music friends laughed in shock when she saw this on the front of one of the movements: "SSSSSAAAATTTTTBBBBB"

As well, there is a bit of a change for me this choral year. I will not be singing with my women's choir, Belle Canto. This is a significant change for me. I have been singing with the Cantilon Choral program for 12 years. I began in the Chamber Choir and joined Belle Canto when I started University. It was a decision motivated by multiple factors. One being that it is always good to have a change. I will be singing with The Edmonton Opera Chorus for their production of Tales of Hoffman so that will definitely be a new experience for me. Staging, make-up, costumes, wigs, operatic singing... this will be a new world for me. Additionally, the Pro Coro schedule season is not for a choral lightweight. It is going to require a significant amount of physical and mental stamina, however, I'm excited to develop my musicianship skills in this particular choral setting. In no way does my absence from Belle Canto this year mean that I will never return. This year is an experiment to see what my choral year looks like when I work on other projects.

What are you up to this season? Let me know in the comments section! Until next time readers, take care!

Podium Commences

 Greetings readers,

This choir girl has officially landed in the heart of Podium 2012. The first day was a blur: a parliament tour, sound check, choir concert, interview, another choir concert, and welcome reception. As soon as I arrived, it has felt like I've been consumed in a choral-centric whirlpool. Every time I go another round in the swirling vortex there is yet another person I recognize and am excited to greet. This conference is choirtopia. There are so many opportunities to just choir geek-out throughout this conference. One look into the audience and you wonder: “Is that Jeff Enns? the composer of the piece we’re singing?!?!” or “Is that the conductor of the Canadian Chamber Choir!?!?” It’s as if these glances within an audience or during a reception function as choir star-sightings. It feels like all the musical acquaintances that I have slowly compiled have all aggregated en masse this weekend.

Belle Canto's morning began with some lovely historic touring of the East Block of Parliament in the morning followed by lunch in the parliamentary cafeteria with Canadian Senators. Afterwards Belle Canto hurried over to Knox Presbyterian Church to begin the sound check. The church was gorgeous. Reverberant stonewalls containing a cool and comforting atmosphere. We began by singing through our Schumann pieces and communal smiles appeared throughout the choir as we heard the pulsating reverb of our sound. This was going to be a fun acoustic to sing in. After a little bit of physical rearrangement, including my discovery the Belle Canto had introduced some choralography into El Hambo, we were ready for our concert.

When performance time came, there was a comforting sense of calm in our green room. Modestly enough, we didn’t have high expectations for concert attendance. We knew we were the first choir performing at the conference and, oftentimes, there is the unspoken understanding that the first day of the conference is the arrival day. Imagine my general shock when I walked out into Knox Church and it was almost a full-house. The people were so densely packed in the pews that I couldn’t make out individual faces beyond those in the immediate rows and patrons with good window spots. It was also an usual experience for me to perform for so many attentive faces. I wish I had a better vantage point so I could have seen the range of reactions from our audience throughout the performance. Overall, I felt like Belle Canto’s set was secure. There were some unexpected claps and minor word mix-ups, but nothing in a high enough concentration to contaminate the entire performance. The Schumann pieces were executed with rich and romantic singing, our premiere of Enns’ “Vidi Speciosam” resonated with ethereal clarity, and Barber’s “To Be Sung on the Water” had this vulnerable, quiet beauty about the performance. It was also refreshing to end with “El Hambo” and “V’la bon vent” which allowed us to have fun and show the audience that we don’t take ourselves too seriously.

Belle Canto’s performance definitely provided an interesting contrast to the Tartu Ülikooli Akadeemiline Naiskoo's repertoire. At times I felt like my ears were tricking me because I was convinced there were men in their alto section even though I knew it was a female choir. Their alto sound was just so present and perfectly balanced. They sang a wide array of Estonian folk melodies. I think folk melodies are especially powerful because there is something at the core of the music with a sense of resilience. In any culture, there are constant fluctuations within the history but folk melodies are still able to be consistently transferred. Their entire choral sound had a pliable purity and cohesiveness, which complemented their Estonian repertoire perfectly.

The evening showcase concert included the Podium Choir, which was composed of numerous Ottawa choirs. They performed Paul Winter’s “Missa Gaia” aka “Earth Mass”. Under the direction of Matthew Larkin, over 120 singers sang "Missa Gaia" accompanied by strings, percussion, and piano. There were even sound effects of whales and wolves, though I’m convinced the wolves sounded more like dinosaurs. These sound effects were integrated with the previously mentioned musical components to create a soundscape celebrating all of earth’s living things. While I’m not sure if it was because I was sitting at the back of the hall, I found it extremely difficult to hear the choir. Once the accompaniment emerged, it blanketed the sound of the singers. Visually, I could tell they were singing at full volume. Overall, it was difficult to hear the musical clarity when the choral voices sounded muffled. Winter’s piece had lots of unique ideas, including an audience participation component where a hymn was provided for congregational singing and many power-packed choral melodies. What I enjoyed most was that it was a remarkable showcase of combined choral effort and passion in the Ottawa choral community.

I’m looking forward to what else this Podium has to offer! My upcoming day will be filled with sessions, interviews, and concerts and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Until next time readers, take care!

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I'll be writing daily Podium 2012 blog updates which will be cross-posted on The Sound and Noise, The Choir Girl Blog and the ACCC Choral Bytes Blog. As well, I will be live tweeting from @misssable. You can also find all conference tweets and news using this hashtag: #Podium2012

Conducting the Interview

Following a regular Monday night rehearsal, Cantilon Choirs founder and Artistic Director Heather Johnson agreed to discuss with me the choral season and Belle Canto’s upcoming participation in Choral Canada’s Podium 2012 Choral conference this week in Ottawa. Johnson is casually balanced on the piano bench at the front of the rehearsal hall. I acknowledge the interesting role-reversal about to occur as I organize myself to conduct the interview. As a choir girl, I have been singing with Johnson for over 10 years. You can probably imagine the influence this woman has had on my formative choral years.

Cantilon Choirs was faced with an interesting process this past season. Johnson had to instigate a search for a new Artistic Director for the choral program, due to a potential family move to Ottawa. Although it has now been confirmed that Johnson and family are, indeed, staying in Edmonton. Johnson remarked that the search process allowed her to reflect upon her role: “I really want [Cantilon Choirs] to survive if, at any time, I am not here.” This is apparent as Johnson revealed one of her ultimate goals is to eventually form a choir school in Edmonton. “I was determined to find somebody to take this over and be as passionate about it as I am. I wanted to know why they wanted to conduct children’s choirs, particularly…and what it was about working with children and youth that was exciting for them.”

Upon further reflection, Johnson announces that she is fortunate that her job allows her to work with people for an extended period. The structure of the Cantilon program is conducive to chorister development since singers as young as kindergarteners can naturally graduate to more advanced groups within the program, such as the Cantilon Chamber Choir and Belle Canto Women’s Ensemble. Johnson pauses at this point in the interview and smiles at me: “I remember you as a child, I really remember you." I give her an acknowledging glance as I look up from my iPad. Johnson remarks that working with people over an extended period of time, from children to adulthood, is an incredible privilege.  "I can help [young choristers] shape the way they look of the world. And for me, that’s why I do this."

Johnson recognizes that the choral experience for her youth choristers is not just another mere extra-curricular activity: “There are a lot of things that families have difficulty teaching children now. Society has gotten so fast-paced, and kids are often involved in so many activities that it’s hard to find the time to slow down and focus. They have an experience with the choir that they don’t get anywhere else.” When you are completely immersed in your passion, there is lost sense of time. The curious choir girl in me inquires what Johnson considers characteristics of her ideal chorister. “They challenge me and explore new things. I tend to attract singers who not only need the choir musically in their lives but for something else… I let them take challenges and risks that are safe. ” I smiled. That was different from I was expecting.

While discussing what makes community choirs unique in comparison to other choral groups, Johnson announces that the choral social experience “is the most important part of being in an amateur choir… choirs don’t sing well together unless they’re cohesive social units. There’s something different about a group of singers who have sung together for a long time on stage that’s impossible to quantify. They have a connection to each other that translates to the connection they have to music.” This is why I continue to sing in Belle Canto.

Johnson reveals that Belle Canto’s Podium performance will provide a full-bodied European sound palette for conference attendees to experience. As well, Johnson commissioned Canadian composer Jeff Enns to compose a piece for Belle Canto to premiere at Podium 2012. “I heard his work being sung by the Canadian Chamber Choir [last summer]. He was truly writing for the full range of the female voice. I wanted a sacred work and selected text from the Song of Solomon… it suits female choirs beautifully.” Other repertoire choices for Belle Canto’s Thursday Podium will include works by Schumann, Bartók, Barber, and Mäntyjärvi. “We have a much more flexible sound that can sing these different styles. We sing with a unique attention to rhythmic precision that is not always true of women’s choirs and we like to have fun." Indeed, speaking from my personal choir girl experience within Belle Canto, our tendency to enjoy ourselves is not overlooked, especially when we are on tour. As the Cantilon Choral program prepares for its 2012/2013 with Johnson at the helm of the organization, Belle Canto’s Thursday performance with Johnson at Podium 2012 will hopefully signify her continued presence with the organization for many more years to come.


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I'll be writing daily Podium 2012 blog updates which will be cross-posted on The Sound and Noise, The Choir Girl Blog and the ACCC Choral Bytes Blog. As well, I will be live tweeting from @misssable. You can also find all conference tweets and news using this hashtag: #Podium2012

A Choir Girl Heads East

Greetings readers,

This Choir Girl is heading out east!

Actually, Ottawa, to be more exact. That is where Podium 2012 is hosted this year, which is the annual Canadian Choral Conference from May 17-20, 2012. I expect these four days to be filled with excellent music, engaging dialogue, and ample opportunity to geek-out as choral music enthusiasts attend sessions and concerts together.

While I have sung at two Podium conferences in the past (Edmonton (2000) and Victoria (2006)), this will be my first year singing, blogging, and formally attending the sessions. It’s going to be a bit of a balancing act; I’m not expecting to get much sleep. In order to make the weekend more manageable, I reorganized the weekend schedule to visualize trends and group activities. It is my attempt at a qualitative analysis of the weekend schedule.

Figure 1. Podium Sessions

[Allow me to explain my colour-coded thought process: Thursday events are in red, Friday events are in blue, Saturday events are in green, and Sunday events are in orange. As well, not every single session has been listed, only the ones from the main sessions page from the Podium website.]

How does one begin scheduling a plan of attack in order to conquer the sheer multitude of choral sessions? A top five priority list? Agreeing to some pre-determined session hopping? Peer pressure? No matter what the plan is, there is much to learn and no right way to go about it. It’s a choose-your-own-choral-adventure type of situation!

Figure 2. Podium concerts

Aside from attending a wide array of sessions, I feel like the best way to learn and experience what this country has to chorally offer is to attend the concerts. This is where I plan to spend the bulk of my time. Please excuse my inherent bias, since I am a Choir Girl of Belle Canto, but not only are we the only choir representing Western Canada this Podium, but we also get to share Thursday’s concert with the Estonian treble choir, Tartu Ülikooli Akadeemiline Naiskoo. I’ve been following their updates on social media, and even though I cannot read Estonian, I feel like we’re choral-kin already. It will be noteworthy to see the MacMillian Singers and Elmer Iseler Singers pay a musical homage to the work of Ruth Watson Henderson. I am intrigued by the biographies of the L’Ensemble vocal Ganymede, L’Ensemble vocal Sainte-Anne Singers, Concerto Della Donna, the Ottawa Bach Choir, and Siren Women's Choir. I will be curious to hear their choral voices as well. The Missa Gaia should also be quite the show-stopper with over 120 voices performing the work under the direction of Matthew Larkin.

Furthermore, you can probably expect to see me at every concert on Saturday. While I have heard many of these choirs, voces boreales, Quintessential, Hamilton Children’s Choir, High Park Choirs of Toronto, St. Michael’s Boy choir, and the Toronto Children’s Chorus Chamber Choir, in recordings and on CBC radio, I have yet to witness live performances from them. It’s quite the luxury to have them all performing on one day. Of course, I think one of the concerts to see and be seen at is the National Youth Choir (NYC) performance. Even though I will be weeping silently inside while attending this concert (I was accepted into the NYC but had to decline due to other commitments), I won't turn down the opportunity to support my fellow youth choristers.

After giving my figures another glance, I think my attempts at developing a plan of attack may be futile. I will merely let these diagrams serve as an outline of choral possibility and be open to whatever opportunities come my way. Whether that is scheduling some blog interviews with session speakers or choristers, speaking with new choral friends in the lobby of the Lord Elgin Hotel, or having coffee with a blog reader, I’m ready for all choral possibilities.

I'll be writing daily blog updates which will be cross-posted here on The Sound and Noise, The Choir Girl Blog, and the ACCC Choral Bytes Blog. As well, I will be live tweeting from @misssable if you wish to follow me during that time. You can also find all conference tweets and news using this hashtag: #Podium2012

Until next time readers, take care!

Choir Retreat...Finally!

Greetings readers!

I hope you have enjoyed some of my recent Sound and Noise blog posts. It's something I've been trialling because I was presented with an opportunity to contribute some guests posts (Thanks @halfsharpmusic!). I feel like it will allow me to expand my writing range and be exposed to a group of passionate writers. Though I'm still finding a balance between Sound and Noise and my regular choir girl blogging, you can rest assured that my attention will, and always will be, dedicated to this blog.

In my guest blogger frenzy over the past weeks, I forgot to post an entry detailing the choir retreat I had with my women's choir, Belle Canto. It probably is of no surprise to you all, but I was super excited to have a solid day of singing. We began rehearsals on Friday night and continued all-day Saturday (with generous breaks for socializing and food.) Our Saturday evening ended off with a 5 course dinner at the Manor Cafe. The wine was plentiful and the white and dark chocolate cheesecake ball dipped in chocolate ganache and rolled in almonds was a decadent and proper way to end a day of singing. Thank-you for indulging me with reading my tangential food note.

One thing that was so refreshing during the retreat was that we were finally singing music that we love to sing. I know it does sound a bit ridiculous that we're more than halfway in our season and we're just starting to sing our true repertoire now. In an attempt to provide context and not an excuse, I do think it is due in part to the structure of our season. In the Fall, we have a dessert auction, but we only present 2-3 pieces since the other choirs in the Cantilon program are singing as well. At Christmas, again, the focus is on the younger choirs in the program and more traditional mass Christmas works instead of Belle Canto's own individual repertoire. Then following Christmas, we're busy preparing for our Broadway Gala and singing Oliver! is not like preparing a Brahms piece. Therefore, my internal response to the music we were beginning to rehearse at the retreat was: "Finally!"

During the retreat, it was just satisfying to learn some new music as well as have opportunities to hear other singers in the group. We tried some different seating arrangements (sitting in a circle with our conductor in the middle), we had some small group time where we had to work as a mini ensemble to present a piece to the rest of the choir, and we did some sectional work. I really enjoyed the small group time. It gave me a better chance to hear what the singers around me were doing and made me more self-aware and accountable for what I was contributing to the group as well. It's difficult to self-monitor as a singer in the choir because you can't hear what the overall group or section sounds like. Thus, if you're not getting specific feedback in regards to how you're doing, you just continue on the assumption that everything is fine unless you hear otherwise. It's easy to become disengaged and start coasting when this the case.

Currently, we are busy preparing our program for Podium 2012, which is a Choral Music Conference where conductors, singers, educators, composers, choral administrators and, music lovers in general, gather to attend sessions and listen to an array of choirs that present concerts during the conference. Some highlight pieces from the retreat weekend was, "Vidi Speciosam," a work Belle Canto commissioned by Canadian composer, Jeff Enns, which has gorgeous writing for female voice. Oh, how I love full-bodied sacred music singing.  I also enjoyed working on a set of Spanish pieces, which includes Estévez's "Mata del Anima Sola." I challenge you not to have this work stuck in your head after you watch this video (the first part morso than the second part):

 

Overall, I'm excited by the repertoire and preparatory process that awaits Belle Canto for the rest of our season. I cannot wait for Podium to arrive; I am going to be going on a massive blogging blitz. I plan to cover sessions, concerts, and potentially conduct some interviews to cross-post on this blog, Sound and Noise, as well as the ACCC Choral Bytes blog. It's going to be a busy time, but I would not have it any other way.

Until next time readers, take care! 

Another Broadway Gala Down

Backstage

Greetings readers!

Another Broadway Gala has come and past. This year Cantilon put on a concert version of "Oliver!" I don't have too much about it other than the fact that it felt like controlled chaos. The music was straightforward enough. The Belles were only singing 3 songs. Choreography learning went smoothly. The most tricky part was that we had to sing "Consider Yourself" three times and each time required slightly modified choreography so it was difficult trying to keep them as distinct routines in my mind. By far, the children had the most work in it since there are a ton of children choruses. The Belles and the men's chorus (recruited from family and friends) joined the rest of the children for three songs. Of course, the most fun for the adults was "Oom Papa". I think it was because that even if we screwed up, it didn't matter because we were supposed to be inebriated anyway. For the most part, I think a lack of inhibition provides adults with the confidence to perform their best. The Edmonton Journal even came and took a video clip of us during rehearsal.

I think the Broadway Gala highlight for me were the fantastic soloists drawn from the pool of Cantilon singers as well as the male soloists which we recruited from our assembled men's chorus. We had a Fagin with a twisted swagger, a hysterically hilarious Mrs. Corney, a booming Mr. Bumble, and a wide-eyed Oliver. As well, during the intermission there was a lovely Victorian style market which was set up by Belle Canto members. There was gruel (a.k.a. dry soup) mix, baked goods, flowers, ring toss, photobooth and other goods for sale. 'Twas a fundraising event after all.

I think the experience can be better shared via the pictures posted below:

Food, Glorius Food, Photo credit: Erin F-W.

Mr. Bumble, Mrs. Corney and the kids, Photo credit: Erin F-W. 

Pick a pocket with Fagin, Photo credit: Erin F-W.

Consider Yourself, Photo credit: Erin F-W.

Adorable orphans, Photo credit: Erin F-W.

 Broadway Gala cast minus principals, Photo credit: Erin F-W.

Until next time readers, take care!

Farewell?

Greetings readers,

This week is a time of great choral change for Edmonton. In addition to the news of Pro Coro's new artistic director this Friday, it was officially announced today that the conductor of Belle Canto and Chamber Choir as well as artistic director of Cantilon Choirs, Heather Johnson, will be seeking a replacement for her position. She will stay on as a co-conductor of Belle Canto but there will be an opening for the position of artistic director and conductor of the Chamber Choir. What does this mean for Belle Canto? We would have somebody leading local rehearsals but Heather would join us a few times of the year for intense blocks of rehearsals. That's not bad at all. It's how Pro Coro functions, as well as many other professional ensembles and it's a working model. I was expecting more of a "Farewell! I'll never see you again!" rather than a "Farewell! See you again in two months!" 

By the time I officially heard the news on Monday, I had reached the point of acceptance in regards to this potential news. I think everybody in the choir knew at the beginning of the season that this was a realistic possibility since her husband was accepted for a University teaching position in Ottawa. Collectively, we knew that a move to join him would be in the not-so-distant future especially since they have a young daughter and the east-west commute for family time looked hectic to say the least. It's not a matter of where they should live but more a question of what makes sense as a family.

I can only imagine the emotional backlash Heather received from some of her younger singers: anger, shock, abandonment, jealously... If I was 15, I'd probably feel the same way. Choir was my life. It gave me purpose, confidence, community---taking away the core of that would have had a destabilizing effect upon anybody. The egocentric worldview of a teenager can easily disregard the complexity of adult decisions. It's hard to predict how we will respond to substantial life decisions when we are greeted with them. While I can't even imagine how I would respond in a similar situation, I seek solace in the fact that my future self would be able to make the best decision for myself at that point in time.

At rehearsal on Monday, Heather asked us if we had any questions or thoughts about the proposed arrangements. I was trying to compose a mental discourse of my feelings to share with the group, but I realized that I didn't have anything to add. I knew that this announcement has been coming for a while and that she has already considered every possibility. It's really time to stop thinking and time to start moving on. Which is exactly what Cantilon is doing by seeking a replacement.

While I don't know what the future will bring, let this post be my personal proclamation of support for Heather. I know this decision was not an easy one but having Belle Canto as a stabilizing unit in a time of great change is of great comfort to me, the choir as a whole, and, I think, Heather as well. Therefore Heather, if you are reading this: Go to Ottawa! Unite your family! Start a choir in Ottawa! If life ever brings you back to Edmonton, we'll be here.

Singing with Family

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!

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.

Back to Choir

 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!

"Bright"

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!

Videos Galore!

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!

Gala Success!

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

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!

Retreat Weekend

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!