A Choral Reflection

There is something to be said for reconnecting with people that put you at complete ease. Yesterday, for the first time in five years, my closest choral companions from my teenage a cappella ensemble, Con Fuoco, reunited for an evening. As we each took turns to provide verbal updates in a round table manner, I just kept thinking how inspiring it was to listen to the paths that some of my friends have chosen. They are diverse and unique but the commonality was that they were completely true to that person's character. Their overall life trajectory appears organic to me as a third-party observer.

It also made me think of what our teenage selves would have thought if they were able to evaluate ten year older versions of themselves. One fellow choir girl remarked how she remembers drafting Plan's A-C and how some of them included aspirations for choral conducting training. She gave a laugh of amusement at how utterly inappropriate that would be for her now. It is amazing to see what predictions form when you're forecasting the future in the formative stages of adulthood. I, too, would be shocked at how I have turned out so far. I had one main career aspiration as an overachieving teen: Medical School.

The desire wasn't motivated by any cultural pressure. My parents watched on in silence as I self-motivated myself through a full courseload of an academically-oriented program. They chose to stay out of my path of academic frenzy when I made conscious choices to forgo Halloween festivities in order to finish a Styrofoam model of a eukaryotic cell or when I started video taping for an English class project when there was a school hiatus from a teacher's strike. In University, I realized that it wasn't so much the actual dream of "Medical School" that had enticed me, but the prospect of helping people. It was difficult to realize that there are multiple options to reach this goal with my limited teenage worldview. In the early years of my undergrad, I had these thoughts when I was still convincing myself of my Medical School aspirations.

"I'm in a perpetual state of stress. I'm not enjoying my courses. I'm not doing that well in them. This sucks."

During this time, I wasn't singing regularly. I was still in Belle Canto, but after a few weeks of missed rehearsal, I was starting to feel the emotional imbalance as I had no outlet for all of these negative feelings.

As I reflected on this last night, I realized that even if I was in Medical School at this very moment in time, I know, for a fact, that I would not be singing as much as I do now. While I understand that sacrifices must be made in order to pursue career aspirations.... I do not wish to compromise doing the things I love. I am also allowed to love doing more than one thing. That includes singing in choir. It is a component of my life that more than just a frivolous leisure activity. At this point in time, my Speech Pathology and choral interests have equal priority.

I've done a mental review of my blogging year; it's staggering to see the creative explosion of content I've generated through the blog this year. I had more opportunities to sing in new ensembles in the city which included my concert with the Scona Singers and the Ordo Collective. The latter providing me the opportunity to tour to Victoria and Vancouver to perform the work. I survived the Pro Coro audition process under the direction of Pro Coro's newly appointed artistic director, Michael Zaugg. I also began writing for Sound + Noise after editor-in-chief, Michael MacDonald, contacted me via Twitter to attend a meeting. There is something to be said for meeting a mentor at the right point in time. MacDonald was the one who encouraged me to do interviews and social media coverage of the Podium 2012 choral conference in Ottawa since I was going there anyway with Belle Canto. This shaped my social media experience at the conference and gave me the confidence to dream big with my blog. As a result, I have a series of Podium posts and interviews with conductors, Heather Johnson, Ivars Taurins, Hilary Apfelstadt, Lydia Adams, and Michael Zaugg to add to my archives. My Podium 2012 coverage also led to my first paper print article in the Fall version of Choral Canada's "Anacrusis" Journal. As well, my blog garnered some local media attention for the first time in an Edmonton Sun article. My studies at the Summer Vocology Institute in Salt Lake City inspired some voice science posts as well.

To say that 2012 has been a great speechie, singing, and blogging year is an understatement. In some ways, I wonder if I have peaked given the burst of opportunity that I have been presented with this past year. No matter what, I am certain if my teenage self had to reevaluate my current path, she would initially be surprised but proud that I have not compromised either my career aspirations or musical passion. I have developed a multi-faceted area of interests such as voice science, rehabilitation, choral singing, and blogging and, by doing the things I enjoy, I have somehow formed a life template that incorporates all of my interests.

Thank-you to all of my readers this past year. I hope to bring you more inspired content in 2013.

Con Fuoco Reunited

My favorite blog posts of 2012:

What do Choristers Do?

My inaugural post for Sound + Noise and my chance to introduce myself to new audiences in a refreshing format.

The Culture of Fear

A post that challenged me to evaluate what I find fulfilling in past choral relationships and my personal feelings on how this has shaped me into the performer I am today.

A Vocal Diagnosis

A post incorporating my approach to voice rehabilitation and how this extends to vocal pedagogy.

Painting the Nightingale

This post resulted after I came home from Pro Coro rehearsal and could not sleep because I was too buzzed. The rehearsal process for Praulin's "The Nightingale" was utterly consuming and rewarding. I have been waiting a long time to sing music like this. As well, receiving a personal message from Praulins himself in response to my post was a choir girl highlight.

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)

Tweet me! Embracing Social Media at Podium 2012

The world of choral music can sometimes feel like a microcosm. The world of social media can also feel the same way. However, when these two specialized spheres overlap, the focused interaction of these two factors produces one of the most unique choral-social experiences. While I was looking forward to Podium with great anticipation as a singer and as a choir girl blogger, the reason Podium was as engaging as it was for me was due to the presence of social media. By social media I mean Facebook, Twitter, blogging, e-mail – all modes of Internet interaction. Twitter is a social media platform, not unlike Facebook, where users can share their experiences with a larger audience with messages known as “tweets” in 140 characters or less. My goal at Podium 2012 was to actively use these various tools to show how choral music enthusiasts could be united by their love of choral music.

I sent out a tweet of my arrival upon checking in the Lord Elgin Hotel. Almost immediately, I had a reply and made plans to meet a twitter acquaintance and fellow choral music blogger, Jean-Pierre Dubois-Godin. It was my first opportunity connecting with a fellow choir music blogger. I believe the same can be said of choral conductors across this country, each in their own community pocket, potentially with limited opportunity for inter-conductor connections. Alas, being united in musical passion but segregated by physical coordinates.

During the conference, it was exciting for me to read live updates regarding who was sitting in the audience of my concert or getting tweets when Donald Patriquin happened to mention my name during a his world music reading session. The instantaneous notification and interaction with others made me feel like I could be in two places at once. By the way, the only reason Donald knew me was because he had read my blog two years earlier from a ChoralNet link. The interconnected web that unites us through the worldwide web and its power is not to be overlooked. 

Another surreal experience was just to meet some of my readers. One morning I entered the elevator, and a fellow rider glanced at my nametag and stated in a friendly tone: “I read your blog post this morning!” It was a blog post that I had only published an hour earlier. This was not the first or the last time I had moments of recognition since some conference attendees, once seeing my nametag, would say: “You’re that Choir Girl blogger!” Why yes, yes I am. Up until this point, I have never come across so many moments of immediate connection between readers and myself. What I do as a blogger is similar to a conductor in a way because what we do is lonely work. I work in silence to formulate my message but it is not until I share this with my audience that my work is given meaning.

Twitter not only became a tool for me to connect with other attendees at the conference but also a way for me to share my continuous interaction at the conference with the choral community abroad. Since I was composing a continuous cycle of daily blog posts and posting the links on Facebook and Twitter, I was getting constant feedback from readers. On one occasion the manager of The Choir Project, Dr. Marian Dolan, told me that she appreciated being able to read news from the conference. She wished she was able to be with her choral friends at the conference and that Florida wasn’t so far away from Ottawa. The whole aim of a conference is to share ideas and connect with others. Who is to say this needs to be restricted to conference attendees only? I can already envision a Podium future with live streaming of all sessions and concerts so that the Podium experience can be shared with the international choral community.

 

My aim through actively using blogging and social media during Podium 2012 was to showcase the power through use of these social media tools. I know that people feel uncomfortable with making public statements over social media, but if we are accountable for our words… then what is the fear? There are always ways to use tools responsibly and social media is no different. As far as I am concerned, the more we can share information and discuss our experiences in an open musical forum, the more that people can benefit. If I ever wanted to go back and remember my conference activity all I would need to do is search for my Podium 2012 blog posts and tweets. It is easy to be wary of a form of communication that seems so foreign and public. It is even easier to dismiss them. All I ask is for people to consider and potentially embrace a new form of musical discourse. We are all looking for ways to connect; it is a shame to not consider implementing an instrument that works so effectively. As with any instrument, it can only be as good as its instrumentalist and there is no better way to learn than to practice.

The rampant technological pace of the world will only continue as the countdown begins for Podium 2014 in Halifax, NS. There is a whole choral community waiting to be connected and it can only be as strong as the network of members who embrace it. I ask you then, dear readers, to take a chance and experiment, even if that means just sending this Choir Girl a simple tweet.

Links:

The Choir Girl Blog: http://www.thechoirgirl.ca/

Choir Girl Twitter: https://twitter.com/misssable

Podium 2014: http://podium2014.ca/

ChoralNet: http://www.choralnet.org/

The Choir Project: http://www.TheChoirProject.org/

Choir X Blog: http://choirx.wordpress.com/

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This article was published in the Association of Canadian Choral Communities' Fall 2012 edition of "Anacrusis." 

A New Choral Voice

Shattering any sense of social formality that would be expected of an interview at a choral music conference, I quickly direct the conversation to Michael Zaugg’s bid for Artistic Director of Pro Coro instead of asking him about the conference.

“Oh, you’re talking about Pro Coro, not Podium!” Zaugg remarks, surprised at my conversation starter.

“I’m here to talk about you,” I state.

“O.k.!” he says with a smile as he readies himself.

In addition to his roles as the conductor of the St. Lawrence Choir in Montreal, the Cantata Singers in Ottawa, and voces boreales at the Montreal Choral Institute, over this past year Zaugg participated in a comprehensive selection process for the position of Artistic Director and Principal Conductor for Pro Coro Canada. As a Pro Coro chorister, I was able to participate in a small portion of this process and blogged about the experience. The news of Zaugg’s successful appointment as Artistic Director was welcome news not only to me but to the entire Edmonton choral community.

Zaugg admits that the prospect of conducting Pro Coro had been percolating in his mind for the past 15 years. His Stockholm conducting mentor (and previous Pro Coro Artistic Director), Anders Eby, told him to keep an eye on Pro Coro if he ever moved to Canada. However, upon Zaugg's arrival in Canada in 2004, it was clear that Pro Coro’s established Artistic Director, Richard Sparks, had no intention of retiring from the position. Meanwhile, Zaugg began establishing himself in the Montreal and Ottawa choral scene, assuming the role of Music Director of the Cantata Singers in 2005 and the St. Lawrence Choir in 2008, and founding the Montreal Choral Institute in 2009. However, one day while on ChoralNet, Zaugg saw the Pro Coro posting for a new Artistic Director. It was a “that’s it” kind of moment, he says to me with a pensive intensity, “the window opened in the sense that I [had] to get that position.”

A consuming selection process began that involved drafting a five-year plan for the vision of the choir, supplying his thoughts on fundraisers and financing, and a series of east-and-west Canadian commutes for interviews. During that time, the list of potential candidates was distilled to the concentrated choice of three candidates. Zaugg revealed his thoughts when he finally arrived for his concert audition: “I don’t get nervous in these situations. I just get very excited.” I was curious to know if there was an epiphanial moment in which he felt he had secured the position: “Well, it would be cocky to say so. But I think at the concert…when we were together on stage.”  I am sure that anybody in the choir or audience that day would agree that he was clearly the one.

Looking towards the future as the new Artistic Director of Pro Coro, Zaugg discusses how professional ensembles need to set an example. They must constantly challenge themselves and others to be better. He stresses the importance of looking at all music from a different angle in order to inspire other conductors and ensembles to try something new as well. Zaugg believes that professional ensembles have to not only be “leaders in simply performing but leaders in research, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and structural ideas in administration.” He hopes that an amateur choir can look at Pro Coro and say: “this is how you set up a choir to be successful, this is how you get funding, this is how you organize fundraisers, this how you run the board etc.” Furthermore, Zaugg reflects on the state of choral music in Canada: “We are in a fortunate situation. There are three big [professional choirs] in Canada. There are smaller professional choirs like voces boreales. There are niche choirs doing early and contemporary music but all in all there aren’t many.” He describes the organization of the European professional choirs that include groups from France, Germany, and Austria; Zaugg remarks that they meet to do professional workshops and recording sessions. He envisions a future for this type of professional exchange in North America: “I don’t see why not,” he simply states.

What I noticed in my experience while working with Zaugg is that he understands what it is like to be a singer. Unfortunately, not every choir has a conductor that can sing or understands how to sing. I ask Zaugg’s thoughts on this matter: “I’ve listened to many choirs. There is good material in the choir but their conductor doesn’t know what to do with it. There are conductors who have enough experience who are able to put it in words what they want or in gestures. But I always pride myself that I can sing everything I request from the singers.” He not only challenges his singers but himself as a conductor and pedagogue. In beginning his work with the Montreal Choral Institute’s masterclass, he realized that “a lot of young conductors listen but they don’t hear… we are very often as conductors caught up in trying to teach music, intervals, dynamics, words, that once the performance comes around we haven’t had the time to look at the ensemble, dynamics, articulation…but at the same time, if we know what to listen for it is easier to implement.” Zaugg’s statement comprehensively describes the goal of his Podium 2012 workshop with voces boreales. In the session, he provided an aural toolkit for conductors to utilize while listening to chords.

Additionally, there is a side of veiled magical whimsy beneath Zaugg's meticulous conductor exterior. When asked what he would sound like as a piece of music, Zaugg feels that Praulins’s oratorio “The Nightingale” would be most fitting: “I love fairytales… the imagination and the fantasy. So much is in that piece. The multitude of styles…sometimes there are broad and romantic lyrical sounds and then in the middle there is a mechanical bird with a technical aspect to it.” Witnessing firsthand his crisp gestural execution and full-bodied sound aesthetic, it is apparent that this piece represents him well. Too bad not many people have heard it before. Thankfully for Edmonton audiences, the Canadian premiere of “The Nightingale” will take place at Pro Coro Canada’s opening concert this season. I recommend that you come out and take a listen as Zaugg makes his official debut with Pro Coro. It is not everyday that there is a new choral voice in town.

Take Every Opportunity

Conductor, Music Educator, Scholar, Author, Director of Choral Studies at the University of Toronto (U of T) --- these are all roles which Hilary Apfelstadt has seamlessly integrated into her life. At the Podium 2012 conference, Apfelstaft’s University ensemble, the MacMillian Singers, performed a joint concert with the Elmer Iseler Singers and she discussed with me her experiences within each of these different roles.

While Apfelstadt enjoys conducting a wide range of ages, she confesses that she loves working with University students because “they are still teachable and in the teaching process they have enough knowledge that they can contribute… it is very collaborative.” A recurring theme in our discussion is the concept of education because Apfelstadt first and foremost sees herself as a music educator. She exudes no air of conductor superiority.

Upon entering her position at the U of T, Dr. Apfelstadt saw her role as someone who would create opportunities for music educators. This is seen in Apfelstadt’s reconfiguration of the choral ensembles at the U of T. The number of choirs has been increased from three to four and the focus is on building the importance of the mens choral experience. The ensembles are also unique in that two of the four choirs are run by doctoral students and each doctoral student has a pair of masters students working with them. A powerful and challenging collaborative learning model. Apfelstadt states that this framework serves two purposes: to provide a good choral experience for those who wish to sing and to provide a pedagogical framework for budding conductors.  Recognizing the importance of creating community connections for her students, Apfelstadt has also increased the number of collaborative projects with community ensembles, high schools and professional ensembles like the Elmer Iseler Singers for Podium 2012. She stresses the importance of these connections because it allows her students to realize that they can integrate themselves into the music community once they finish their studies.

In addition to her roles as a music educator and conductor, Apfelstadt has written numerous articles on choral music and contributed two chapters to “Wisdom, Wit and Will: Women Conductors on their Art.” While discussing how she came to be a contributor, Apfelstaft half-jokingly stated that 'when Joan Conlon asks you do to something, you say “Yes, Ma’am!”' Brushing this jovial sentiment aside with a smile, Apfelstadt elaborates that the topics she discusses in the book include leadership styles and balancing the personal and professional aspect of life for women conductors. Apfelstadt states that interesting comments from readers have told her that they found the book was applicable to all conductors and not just women conductors.

I realized that every good teacher always has memorable tokens of wisdom. Apfelstadt was no different. She offered some excellent advice for budding choral conductors: “Get out there and find every opportunity to do everything. Even if somebody offers you a church choir job with 6 people in it, get out there and learn how to work with those people.” Her wisdom can be extended to any personal pursuit. I can see how she has mentored so many with her reassuring tone and supportive nature. It is clear that her students are well looked after.

Composers, Conductors, and Choirs

The prospect of interviewing Lydia Adams was a formidable one. In my mind, the choral heavy weights in Canada consist of the three professional choirs in our country: The Elmer Iseler Singers, Pro Coro Canada, and the Vancouver Chamber Choir. Thus, the choral influence of each of these respective organizations is due in large part to their Artistic Directors. I knew I better not mess this up. The choral shame would be too much to bear. Adams is the conductor and Artistic Director of the Elmer Iseler Singers. She met with me following her joint concert with the Elmer Iseler Singers and the MacMillian Singers at Podium 2012, which honoured the work of Canadian composer Ruth Watson Henderson.

In beginning our interview with post-concert reflections, the topic of Canadian choral composers and their relationships with conductors surfaced. There is a delicate balance of coexistence between conductors and composers because you cannot have one without the other. A choral composer’s work is given meaning when a choir performs it and a choir needs constant musical inspiration from a composer. In Adams’s mind, it was important to recognize the work of Ruth Watson Henderson and Canadian composers in general because “they write and work so had and how much are they really recognized as being an important voice for Canada? They really are the voice. They are the creators.” While the choir does become a conduit for the composer's voice, the bond between a choir conductor and a composer is also crucial because their collaboration both function to elevate the other. Adams cites her inspiration for keeping a professional group like the Elmer Iseler Singers moving forward is the work of new composers: “It's easy because there are constantly new composers coming forward. I am on the constant search for new composers.” Of course, not just any new composer talent will suffice. “They have to know how to write for voice. They have to know how to set text… somebody who goes for something deeper.” It seems so simple in theory but the prospect of composing music that addresses the aforementioned criteria seemed daunting to me, but then again, I am not a choral composer.

Upon being asked what she hopes to contribute to the history of the ensemble, Adams humbly announces that she wants to be remembered as someone who made great music. There is a concise beauty in Adams’s statement. It is comforting to know that the simple goal of making music continues to guide one of Canada’s influential choral voices.

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An interview post part of a Podium 2012 Series cross-posted on Sound and Noise and the ACCC Choral Bytes Blog

The Estonian Singing Revolution

Seeking a quiet moment away from the pre-concert frenzy at Podium 2012, Canadian liaison for the Tartu Ülikooli Akadeemiline Naiskoor choir, Andres Raudsepp, discusses with me the role of music within the Estonian choral community and choir tour so far. As a choir girl who is constantly seeking international outlets to expand my choral experiences, it always perplexes me when choirs choose to tour Canada. Raudsepp describes the appeal of Canada and the relationship between the Estonian-Canadians to Estonians from Estonia. He attributes this appeal to the fact that Estonian-Canadians have always contributed back to their home country in field such as medicine and dentistry, as a result, “Estonia gives back its music.” An excellent example of cultural mutualism.

The Estonian choral community has a rich cultural heritage. Since 1869, Estonia hosts a song festival, “Laulupidu” every five years where over 25 000 singers join together in song. Raudsepp emphasized that this song festival was a formative event in Estonian history because “it established the identity of Estonian choral music… the song festival became an expression of the mentality and desire of Estonia,” and created a “singing revolution.” The reflection of Tartu’s Estonian heritage is also reflected in their repertoire choice at Podium, which was mainly Estonian folklore. Raudsepp remarks this is the case because “the tradition of women as messengers of Estonian's consciousness through folksong over countless centuries is reflected in the current devotion of their country's women singers to their art.” Therefore, the female voices of the group have become a cultural conduit for Estonian sentiments.

Raudsepp remarked that the success of the group is dependent upon three factors. Firstly, the choir has always attracted the best conductors, in this case, Triin Koch. Secondly is the desire amongst the singers. Raudsepp takes a contemplative moment at this point in the interview before continuing: “But there is a third element, and that is a human element, that some conductors don’t realize. Conductors that express gratitude towards their singers get more out of the choir. [Triin Koch] is grateful after every song. You can see that in her face and the faces in her choir.” Oftentimes, it is easy to forget to acknowledge the shared musical genesis that occurs between conductors and choristers. It was clear that the presence of the Tartu Ülikooli Akadeemiline Naiskoor's tour to Canada was not only to sing music, but to share a part of their choral heritage that influenced the development of their nation. From the standing ovation seen following their Podium debut, they clearly succeeded.

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An interview post part of a Podium 2012 Series cross-posted on Sound and Noise and the ACCC Choral Bytes Blog

The National Youth Choir: Creating an Ensemble Out of Raw Talent

Every two years, the opportunity to be a part of one of the most unique choral and social experiences in Canada appears when 40 singers from across Canada are chosen to participate in the National Youth Choir (NYC). It's an opportunity that would make any chorister jealous. The NYC is the premiere youth ensemble at the Podium choral conference. A group of auditioned singers from ages 18-25 are chosen to be a part of the NYC. The experience includes rehearsing and touring surrounding areas preceding the Podium Conference. Touring through Canadian towns and cities everyday and performing with other passionate choral singers? It's sheer choirtopia. This year singers from all ten Canadian provinces formed the NYC and were placed under the direction of Ivars Taurins, conductor of the Tafelmusik Chamber Choir.

Tucked away in the corner of the Lord Elgin hotel lobby, Taurins discussed the NYC rehearsal process, repertoire selection, the bond with his NYC singers, and what he hopes his NYC singers to take away from the experience. After listening to this interview, I knew that this interview was Taurins's homage to his NYC singers. Therefore, I thought I would need to let Taurins speak for himself and post the audio interview. It is apparent that Taurins's love for music, text, and his singers signify the power of choral passion and unity across this country, which is the perfect embodiment of the NYC ideals.


Ivars Taurins Podium 2012 Interview by misssable

Links:
Association for Canadian Choral Communities
Podium 2014 website
Podium 2014 Twitter
Podium 2014 Facebook

The Culmination of Podium

 Greetings readers,

Day #3 of Podium was a self-indulgent one. It was a particularly gorgeous summer day in Ottawa and a leisurely morning blogging and chatting with friends meant that I only caught the end half of the Toronto Children’s Chorus Chamber Choir (TCCCC) performance. I should preface my following comments with the fact that I am not a fan of choirs that don’t sound like they’re singing with their full range. I just felt like the TCCCC had so much more sound to offer but it remained buried beneath a very proper choral façade. Don’t get me wrong, the notes were all there, the rhythm was there, but I just found their interpretation of the music to be too clinical. I find that when children’s voices are not used to their full range they just sound like they’re in a stunted state of childhood. Childhood should be the time to experiment with our vocal instruments. I understand it’s a completely choral sound aesthetic preference; it just so happens that theirs doesn’t appeal to me.

The Hamilton Children’s Choirs and High Park Choirs (HCC/HPC) were stunning. It made me wish I was 13 again so that I could go and sing in these choirs. They have such control over a wide range of vocal colours and it resulted in such a unified voice. Their show-stopping pieces for me were definitely Hatfield's "Las Amarillas" and Rajaton's "Pakkanen". The TCCCC performed Las Amarillas earlier in the day; however, the HCC/HPC performance re-calibrated my quality bar for the performance. My favorite part of the HCC/HPC is what when they use choralography, it does not take away from the singing. In many ways, it doesn’t even appear as if you’re watching movement, it just feels like you’re viewing an organic entity that visually and aurally embodies the music. Brava HCC/HPC, brava!

My afternoon was filled with some quality voces boreales time as they were the demo choir for Zaugg’s Podium session and they also performed in the afternoon spotlight concert. Zaugg session focused on utilizing varying aural tools to help balance chords and hear better within a choir. There were demos from bright to dark vowel placement in chords, the question of vibrato or no vibrato, and always listening to the softest note in the chord. Zaugg elicited chords from voces boreales and challenged session attendees to listen to which part is the softest, and instead of making those louder sing quieter, he instructed the softer part to sing out. The concert following the session was stunning. voces boreales performed “Die Erste Elegie” by Rautavaara and I was just amazed at how fluid and effortless it sounded. I remember tackling with this piece with Pro Coro in the fall; it was hard work… and you could hear it. This was followed by Holten’s “Regn og rusk og rosenbusk,” another piece I haven’t heard of before but I love it. It had so many interesting choral characters throughout the story, which was from a Hans Christen Andersen’s Rain, Rush, Rosebush tale.

Quintessential comprised the second half of the concert. They had a set of unique arrangement of folk tunes by Kathleen Allan, which I felt suited their Newfoundland spirit very well. The sound of Quintessential is definitely vibrant and powerful. I can see why they have been representing Canada well on the international choral scene.

With the sun shining and a view of the parliament buildings in the background conference, the Podium Gala also rounded off the day. On the top floor of the centre, conductors, choristers, and choir music enthusiasts celebrated Canadian choral talent with an awards ceremony. A perfect culmination to a weekend filled with choral music sessions and concerts. As well, this choir girl only managed to get in because my blog reader and Canadian choral composer, Donald Patriquin had an extra ticket. Thanks Donald!

And with that dear readers, I am signing off as your official choir girl Podium correspondent. Belle Canto will be departing the conference today so my daily posts and twitter updates will now come to a close. I hope you have enjoyed following me through my first Podium experience and I hope there will be many more to come. After all, Podium 2014 will be in Halifax, NS…

Until next time readers, take care!

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To re-live some of the Podium action and follow updates for today you can see all conference tweets at #Podium2012.

Also, be sure to follow Podium 2014's Twitter and Facebook accounts for all upcoming information regarding the choral conference in Halifax May 15-18, 2014.

Podium Choral Frenzy

Greetings readers,

Day #2 of Podium has officially finished and, if the intensity of the first day was any indication of the pace to follow for the rest of the conference, I was not disappointed yesterday. However, since Belle Canto performed on Thursday, I feel like I have been able to refocus my attention on the upcoming sessions and concerts.

My morning began with a quick visit to the keynote address to signal the official start of Podium 2012. Counsellor Hobbs delivered welcome sentiments from Mayor Jim Watson and the proclamation that May 17-20 would be Choral Weekend in Ottawa in honour of Podium 2012. I ducked out soon after to perform in the Rotunda at Parliament with Belle Canto. With our choir draped upon a one deep riser, our conductor managed to negotiate a non-awkward spot in front of the centre pillar dividing the choir. We sang the same program repertoire as our Thursday concert. Our audience was composed mainly of tourist visitors who appeared appreciative as they snapped pictures and took video evidence of our performance.

As soon as the performance was over I hurried back to conference headquarters at the Lord Elgin to begin conducting a consecutive stream of interviews with spotlight concert conductors: Lydia Adams of the Elmer Iseler Singers, Ivars Taurins conducting the National Youth Choir, Hilary Apfelstadt who is director of Choral Studies at the University of Toronto, and Michael Zaugg Artistic Director of voces boreales, the Cantata Singers of Ottawa, the St. Lawrence Choir and, most recently, Pro Coro Canada. I will be posting these interviews following the conference.

However, I did take a break from interviews to attend Zimfira’s session on “A Child’s Voice- A Full Body Instrument.” She demonstrated a wide array of respiration techniques and visual cues to help elicit full-bodied singing from her choristers. From puppets to slinkys she showcased a range of props to help illustrate sound concepts to children. I think one of the best things about young singers is that they are just so willing to experiment. Make that sound? Sure! Do that action? No problem! The choristers in the Hamilton Children's Choir were fearless and excited to embrace all directions given to them. Also, Zimfira described her views of voice quality as a sound circle: light, heavy, dark, and bright and how to experiment with these different colors in a choir in order to paint to the music.

The evening culminated in the showcase National Youth Choir (NYC) concert, which was easily the most buzzed about events at the conference. Composed of about 40 singers from across Canada, each of the singers were chosen to represent all 10 provinces including the Northwest Territories. My chat with Ivars earlier in the day yielded the term “raw talent” and this was exactly what I heard in the concert. I was presented with a full-bodied and an electric choral voice. The choir was eager to emote and reciprocate the energy from Ivars’ enthusiastic gestures. There was a range of repertoire presented, including two new pieces: “Mysterion Xenon” by Christos Hatzis, commissioned for the NYC, and Elise Letourneau’s “Peace Prayer" which was the winner of the ACCC Composition Competition this year. Hatzis’ “Mysterion Xenon” had an unexpected presence of a mystical synthesizer reverb and Letourneau’s piece had a groovy, romping vibe to it, which was a refreshing break from more intense pieces. I think the most challenging part was the sheer amount of repertoire and the increasingly humid temperature of the church. I felt like there was an increasing choir-audience fatigue level as the concert progressed. Overall, the choir showcased the talented choral youth across this country.

Podium Day #3 continues today and there will be many concerts to attend!

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

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!