New Chorister on the Block

Greeting readers and a Happy New Year to you all!

I am in the works of preparing for two music projects:

1. Chorus in Edmonton Opera's the Magic Flute
2. Alto in the Canadian Chamber Choir

A reflective look at 2014 made me realize I had some amazing choral opportunities. I got the chance to tour to Toronto, Ottawa, and Halifax with Pro Coro. However, the reality of finding only fleeting satisfaction with immediate achievements is that I always wonder: what's next?

In this case, what's next is that I am the newest Alto in the Canadian Chamber Choir (CCC). I have very vivid recollection of the first time I saw them sing. They were touring through the Prairies around 3-4 years ago. I was in my first season with Pro Coro as a substitute member and I was also still singing with my women's choir, Belle Canto. The CCC performed a concert at McDougall United Church and I sat there in awe at their elegance, precision, and clarity while executing choral music. I had never heard of them before. When I learned more about the group, how they incorporate professional singers from across the country and join together at a specific location in Canada to rehearse and tour, they appeared as a elite and untouchable entity. All the singers live in different cities and individually prepare their music so that they can just fly somewhere and form a cohesive ensemble. This appeared an impossible feat since I was raised in groups where we rehearse weekly. It is challenging enough as it is to form a cohesive ensemble while living in the same city. I tucked the prospect of being able to sing with such a group away in my mind and added their name to my choral bucket list.

Confidence: it is a significant mental barrier to overcome. My best approach at overcoming the inner voice of self-criticism is through thorough preparation, increasing experience, and patience with self. I didn't realize it, but in my past three full seasons with Pro Coro, I had been building skills in all the aforementioned areas. Pro Coro, to this day, has introduced me to some of the most challenging pieces of choral music that I have ever sung. There is something to be said of fear desensitization through repeated exposure. Only through practice can you find ways of preparing music that is efficient to your learning style while working with the focused intensity required in professional groups that run on constraints of time and money. My last year touring with Pro Coro also allowed to to meet other professional singers, blog readers, and reconnect with old chorus friends. Some of these singers sang with the CCC. For the first time, I began to realize maybe that it wasn't such a ridiculous idea to submit an audition tape. I had unknowingly acquired skills over these past few years to be able to be considered for ensembles such as CCC. My taste of singing with some of the CCC members at a pop-up music reading session for their Cypress music series at Podium 2014 solidified my resolve to apply when I got back to Edmonton at the end of May.


The rest is history. Well, not quite. It was easy enough to mail off an audition package. At the end of June, I received notification of my acceptance into the pool of CCC singers. I was ecstatic! I knew before applying that just because a singer is invited to be a part of the roster, you may not necessarily be chosen for tours. There is a core group of singers and additional singers are called for projects for varying reasons: repertoire requirements, vocal color, budget etc., There are a lot of changing variables. Singer expectations have to be managed, this I understood. In the middle of September, two weeks after starting a new job with the school board, I received an invitation to tour with the CCC in February 2015. I sat in shock at a staffroom table holding my iPhone in one hand and eating my lunch with the other. Elation was soon greeted with stress. I began brainstorming how exactly I would pitch this absence to my new administration. Over a two-week period of discussions with the admin and creativity regarding hours adjustments, they approved my absence. At this point, I did a fist pump into the air in the privacy of my office after reading the e-mail.

As I wrote to conductor, Dr. Julia Davids, in June when I was notified of my CCC acceptance, "I think that the CCC does amazing work, and while I feel like blogging does connect to choral readers, the way that the CCC materializes within choral communities does something words alone cannot do: create music."

And with that, I'm setting a goal to connect to singers and blog readers while I am touring Kingston, Perth, Ottawa and Montreal with the CCC. I'm excited to connect with more lovers of choral music throughout this country through social media and choir.

You know how to reach me.

The Arrival and the Departure

The portion of our tour in Ottawa had a sense of dual sense of arrival and departure. One of the most poignant moments from the weekend was when the Cantata Singers of Ottawa sung a farewell song for Michael Zaugg. Their conductor, Amy Henderson, took to the podium and Pro Coro quickly scrambled to get off the risers so the CSO could have their moment with Michael.

Many of us sat in the front few pews and off to the side to witness the moment of choral intimacy. They sang what they could not speak. I could hear the quiet sobs of Pro Coro choristers beside me, there were some CSO choristers discretely wiping away tears, or choristers who needed to discontinue singing in order to compose the emotional turbulence in their voice. I found my eyes beginning to fill with moisture as I watched them singing. The significance of Michael's nine years increased with every note the choir sang. It was both heartbreaking and heartwarming to see a performance of this nature. It made me wonder if Pro Coro would be singing such a song in 10 years for Michael. There are so many different phases in life. I felt honored to be witness at such a significant transitional moment in a group's history. It is evident that the Cantata Singers had a wonderful run with Michael at the helm of their choir; however, I am also excited to see the development of Pro Coro in the future.

The Ottawa weekend wasn't all sad departures though. Ottawa had some gorgeous summer weather, which meant sunshine filled walks along the Rideau canal, sipping iced coffees in courtyard patios, and good local eateries all around. I got to connect with blog readers within the Cantata Singers of Ottawa and The Canadian Chamber Choir, reconnect with familiar choral and blogging faces I had met at Podium 2012, an old highschool friend, and even an Arts writer and fellow chorister I know from Sound + Noise.

Now that my Ottawa adventures are completed, it is time to focus on what the next phase of our Pro Coro tour will bring in Halifax. There will be much more music making to be had and many more people to meet! Stay tuned readers and keep your eyes peeled for me if you are attending Podium 2014.

Pro Coro in Toronto

Toronto was a blur.

It was pretty much everything I love: choir music, Speech Pathology, and blogging all culminating in 6 days. While Soundstreams was only on the weekend, I arranged clinic observations at the Voice Disorders Clinic at St. Michael's Hospital during the weekday. I was also able to catch a Voice Care workshop for Acting students at Humber College led by Lori Holmes, a private SLP that has worked extensively with theatre actors and at the Stratford Festival.

"Of course you're tired! You were partying like a choral rock star!" my friend exclaimed after witnessing my post-tour fatigue.

I laughed aloud. She was not wrong. I had to take naps after work in order to make it through my evening commitments, such as seeing my Opera chorus friends in Die Fledermaus, and drinking black Folgers coffee at work to stay awake at 8 AM on Thursday morning.

Pro Coro's delayed 7 AM flight on Friday, January 31 meant we arrived late at our first afternoon rehearsal with the Elmer Iseler Singers and Vancouver Chamber Choir. As we settled in quickly, it was great to get a hug from Lydia Adams, whom I interviewed at Podium 2012, and to see many familiar and friendly faces from the Vancouver Chamber Choir (VCC) and Elmer Iseler Singers (EIS). VCC sang with Pro Coro at our Canadian Connections concert last year. EIS would be joining us in Edmonton for Canadian Connections II the following weekend.

A late flight means a bus warm-up

Our joint rehearsals with Latvian conductor, Kaspars Putniņš, were extremely luxurious. It is not often we have hours to prepare pieces in such details. The two major pieces in this case were R. Murray Schafer's new work, "Hear the Sounds Go Round," and Górecki's "Miserere". Putniņš exuded, focus, contemplation, and patience throughout all his rehearsals. His style was well-suited for the vocal stamina demanded by the Miserere. At the same time, he showed an expressive flutter in his fingers when bringing out the charm and text of Schafer's piece.

Saturday morning rehearsal at U of T

By Saturday night, I could feel that Pro Coro was ready to sing our personal program for Toronto audiences at our solo recital. During our warm-up, I was able to vocally release after the hours of quiet singing and precision demanded in the group rehearsal pieces. I was also surprised to see how nervous I was for Pro Coro's recital. Friends from many different facets of my life were gathered in the Toronto audience to hear what I have been up to. It was the first time they had heard Pro Coro live since I started singing in the group. I surveyed the audience; choral friends from Children's Choir up to University Choirs, Science friends, Opera friends, and even choral tweeps. I took in the sight; faces so familiar to me were interspersed throughout the rows of the church. It was such a unique experience to see such a diverse array of support.

Recital warm-up

Pro Coro sang one of its best concerts thus far that evening. The repertoire accurately displayed the sound and type of music our Artistic Director, Michael Zaugg, intends to pursue with our group.  If anybody was curious as to how Pro Coro has been doing since having Zaugg as the new Artistic Director, audiences heard enough on Saturday night to form an impression. Pro Coro's solo piece by Uģis Prauliņš' "Laudibus in Sanctis" was also a great example of the repertoire we're doing in Edmonton.



The rest of the weekend was string of friends, hugs, well wishes, life updates, music, ramen, caffeine, pints, and laughs. As I have previously mentioned, I have never toured as a professional chorister before. It was a tricky to balance out the performance and social sides of being a chorister. The concept of performance pressure while on choir tour is not a new feeling for me. However, even during my social time, I felt a significant amount of guilt in regards to being ready for early morning sound checks since it was my job to be ready to sing. The pervasive phobia of getting sick was also intense. I packed many a placebo drug, lozenges, and tea to last me throughout the weekend.

Ready for our 10 AM Koerner Hall soundcheck

On stage at Koerner Hall

Oftentimes, it feels like I am playing a double life. I value the confidentiality and work I do as a Speech-Language Pathologist in the day. However, when I get opportunities to jetset and play professional chorister on the other side of the country, it makes me grateful for my timing and ability to be able to accommodate the diversity of my personal passions. My time in Toronto centered around taking it all in. Realizing, in the moment, that I was exactly where I was supposed to be. I hope to continue on this course in the future.

Super Choir

Espresso break

Twitter friends from the Canadian Men's Choir and Victoria Scholars from Toronto

#thechoirgirl reader, Cat Kubash!

 with Putniņš

Snowy Toronto

After hours

Farewell, TO

The Canadian Chamber Choir Brings Their Voice To BC

Every year, 18 professional choristers unite from across the country to form the Canadian Chamber Choir, under the leadership of conductor, Dr. Julia Davids. Their mandate is to foster choral music performance, perform works by Canadian composers as well as provide education opportunities for apprentice conductors and community workshops. Even though the CCC only assembles for a short time, their temporary presence has the ability to unite individualized pockets of the choral community wherever they visit.

The upcoming New Waters progam by the CCC will take them to Vancouver Island and the lower BC mainland. A feature work on the program revolves around the merging of two Icarus works. When I asked Davids about her inspiration behind pairing these two entities, she likens the design of the program to an artistic process, “sometimes you bump into something at the right time," she states with intuitive clarity. Erik Ross's Icarus in the Sea was initially a blind commission, which meant that Ross could write any piece for any choir and he decided to set poetry by Lorna Crozier to music for the CCC. The story of Icarus is a famous one:

Trapped on the Isle of Crete, Icarus dons wings made of wax in an attempt to escape. Consumed with the grandeur of flight, he ignores his father’s warning not to fly too close to the sun. The wings melt and Icarus falls into the sea ... 

Ross' Icarus in the Sea encapsulates the descent of Icarus and describes the hazy underwater images he sees. The CCC has toured with this piece before but Davids notes “works may completely evolve as we perform them throughout the tour.” The constant evolution and editing process is due in part to the close collaboration between the choir and composers. Sensing the audience focus required in Icarus in the Sea, the choir has since paired their performance with visual movement, choreographed by Claire Leger. Dancer, Matthew Peach, plays Icarus who has wings made out of bamboo and the choir participates in the movement of the performance as well.

Most recently, Davids was referred to work by Vancouver-based composer, Kristopher Fulton. She took a listen to Fulton's Icarus on his website and found it was the perfect compliment to Ross' Icarus in the Sea. Fulton's piece encapsulates a rhythmic excitement and describes the ascension of Icarus into the sky, finishing in D major. Ross' piece, chronicling Icarus' decent, begins in D minor. "I feel like these pieces were meant to be together," Davids says while revealing she has goose bumps just reminiscing about this realization.

The role of music education plays an important role with the CCC. “It’s so much a part of who we are,” Davids states with honesty. Davids custom designs every workshop that the CCC holds. This may include vocal technique discussions or perhaps providing support to male singers in a highschool choir by having the CCC singers modeling different types of tones that can be produced with male voices. “It depends on what the organization needs," for example, “the CCC will function as a lab choir [at UBC] and instead of just conducting a class of their peers, conducting students get to work with a top-level choir and really see what the nuances of their gesture can do and what sort of effect they’ll have on their music when people are really sensitive to what they’re doing.”

Conductors, teachers, composers, pianists, and many other professional comprise the fabric of the CCC. The diversity of the CCC highlights the ability to unite the love of choral music we have across this country. Davids reveals that she wishes to visit communities of all sizes across Canada in the future, citing hopeful tours to Newfoundland, New Brunswick, and Manitoba. 

Until that time, I’d encourage BC audiences to take in performances by the CCC this week. It's always empowering to see local choral communities assemble to greet new voices in town. 

Upcoming Performances and Sessions:

Wednesday, October 16, 2013 

WORKSHOP
School workshops in the Victoria Area.
CONCERT
In Concert with Victoria’s Vox Humana
Date & Time: October 16th @ 8pm
Venue: St. John the Divine, 1611 Quadra St, Victoria, BC
For tickets and info, visit www.voxhumanachoir.ca

Thursday, October 17th, 2013

WORKSHOP
Workshop with the Douglas College Chamber Choir
Date and Time: October 17th, 2013. @ TBA
WORKSHOP
Church Choir Workshop
Date and Time: October 17th, 2013. @ 7pm
Venue: Holy Rosary Cathedral, 646 Richards St, Vancouver, BC
Click here for e-poster

Friday, October 18th, 2013

WORKSHOP
School workshops in the North Vancouver Area.
WORKSHOP
Workshop with Capilano University Cap Singers, North Vancouver

Saturday, October 19, 2013 

WORKSHOP

BC Choral Federation Community Workshop
Kerrisdale Presbyterian Church
2733 W 41st Ave, Vancouver, BC
10:00am – 12:00pm
Click here for e-poster
CONCERT
In Concert at St.Mary’s
Date & Time: October 19th @ 7:30pm
Venue: St. Mary’s Kerrisdale, 2490 West 37 Ave., Vancouver, BC
Cost: $25
Tickets can be purchased here
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Mass
Date & Time: October 20th, @ 11am
Venue: Holy Rosary Cathedral, 646 Richards St, Vancouver, BC

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!

Congratulations CCC!

 Photo Credit: Llangollen Website

Hello readers,

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

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

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

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

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

Until next time, take care readers!

An Update of Sorts

Greetings readers!

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

Virtual Choir

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

Pro Coro

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

Alumni Choir Tour

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

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

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













































Until next time, take care readers!

Choral Apathy

I have put off writing this post for a while because, frankly, it kills me to be talking about it. For as long as I have been in choir, I have enjoyed the perks of being in a choir from free food to the chance to tour amazing places.

In the beginning years of the Chamber Choir, my first tour was to Regina SK, after that was Vancouver BC, following that was my first international tour where we went to Wales for the Llangollen Music Festival, then there was a mini choir exchange tour to Toronto ON. Next, I was off on my next large international trip: Hungary, Vienna, and Prague for the Bela Bartok Festival. Then I had a few years break but I still had the chance to go on a mini trip to Victoria B.C. for a day to sing at a music conference. However, after a few years in Belle Canto, we were off to Cork Ireland to compete in the Cork International Choral Festival! Then I was extremely lucky to be able to return to Cork the following year because the University of Alberta Madrigal singers entered the same festival as well! Yes, I have been extremely lucky to travel to so many places. Yes, I have been blessed to have had the opportunity to sing in amazing venues. Yes, touring is a luxury and I have been given an experience that some people will never be exposed to. It still hurts though. Since I haven't explained myself very well "it" refers to the fact that Belle Canto is off to compete in the Seghizzi Choral Festival in Italy this July... and I'm not going.

This is the first time that I have been left out of a choir tour.

Don't get me wrong, it has nothing to do with the choir, I know they would all be happy to have me there, but it's the first time where "life" has interfered with my choral passions. The reason I will not be able to head off to Italy and have wonderful choral adventures is that my Masters program is packed with clinic and courses that I need to complete, which, coincidentally, runs until the end of July. For a few months in the summer last year, after accepting my place in the program, I toyed with the idea of going to Italy.... maybe even just for the weekend! Show up, compete in the classes, and then head back to Canada without missing on any major coursework or clinic time! My mind buzzed with this possibility! Maybe it was possible to have the best of both worlds??? Alas, the stress of not knowing what I would be missing until July arrived and by that point already having my tickets booked just didn't cut it for me. Also, I usually extend my trip and travel after the competition (since I'm already over there) but a 3-day weekend blitz would not really allow for that. I had to make a decision... and school won out. However, I have to admit that when I received my acceptance call from the University, after the initial shock from that message died down, the FIRST thing that popped into my head was: "That means I can't go to Italy."

:(

For a second I felt like declining my Masters acceptance! I realize that may sound a bit sick to some of you readers. Clearly, I did not act on this natural choral reflex of mine (my parents would have probably slaughtered me after first giving me a raging lecture on how I shamed them and all their efforts to raise me). I have slowly come to terms with the fact that I won't be able to go, trying to find trivial details to make me feel better like "That means I don't have to fundraise like crazy this year! Whoot $2500 saved!", "Nobody knows where Seghizzi is anyway!", and "The performance venue doesn't look that nice". All in attempt to placate my silently suffering self.

I have never been through such a bout of choral apathy. It is a deadly thing. It's the crippling unmotivation that is getting me. I feel like I have nothing to work towards this year. Why should I memorize that piece? I won't be able to sing it anyway. Why should I go to that performance? I don't need performance experience anyway. Maybe it's even better for me not to sing since I'm just throwing off the group balance that actually will be touring. I've always known it's important to have a common goal in choir, whether it is for a particular concert or competition, but once that end goal is no longer in sight, it's hard to motivate yourself to continue what you're doing. We all need something to drive us and inspire us to be better. When that stimulus is gone... we're directionless.

Meanwhile, I am excited that my choir is going and watching them buzz over the amazing experiences to come! I get to hear about their travel plans and the amazing gigs they are lining up for themselves, such as singing in St. Mark's Cathedral for Sunday service in Venice! However, I can find myself detaching from it since I find it hurts less. The less I know about their wonderful tour plans the less I know about the things I am missing out on. It's not a great strategy but it's the one I'm currently employing. Silent detachment with a hint of grin-and-bear-it.

I suppose it would be easier if I could blame this on something. Blame it on the choir for not wanting me there! That's not the case. Blame it on my passion-consuming program! Which is not the case (for the most part). Blame it all on me! Even though I know I made right choice since there wasn't really a choice.

All I can do is wish them the best. Cheer them on while they're overseas competing. Hope they bring back a 1st place standing so I can bask in the glory as well, because, hey, even though I'm not standing on the same stage as them in Italy doesn't mean I'm not still a part of the choir :) Oh, and for any of my fellow choristers reading this post, I also wouldn't say no to them bringing home a handsome Swedish choir boy for me :)

In the meantime, take care readers, I hope this wasn't too much of a oh-woe-is-me blog post! I really do wish my choir the best and you can bet I'll be singing with them up until the day they leave on that plane to Italy!

We'll Sing Anywhere

Very interesting behaviors occur during a choir tour...choirs will rehearse pretty much anywhere. This may seem like a simple and even rational statement but I really can attest to the fact that I have sung in a variety of random venues. Normal tour spaces include the airport, outside on the sidewalk, within the courtyards of hostels, churches, and competition venues.

















I do have to say that one of the most unique places I have sung was in...a parking lot. You must understand that this parking lot was in no way sculpted to be a performance venue, rather, the festival did not have a facility big enough for all the choristers so the cement tarmac was their next best choice. Maybe it wouldn't have been so grueling if we weren't forced to rehearse Handel's Hallelujah with hundreds of other choristers, in 40 degree humid weather, with no escape from the sun, and an angry Hungarian conductor waving his baton at us from the shade of a tree on a patch of grass next to the parking lot. He kept on complaining we weren't performing up to his standards. No wonder...as we shielded our eyes from the glaring sun to stare in his direction, attempting to sing louder than the brass instruments in front of us, meanwhile, we could only to see the tip of his baton frantically waving over the heads of choristers in front of us. I just remember he kept on screaming at us, demanding that the sopranos sing their high A's with more gusto than what they were giving him. I wouldn't be surprised if some singers damaged their voices from that rehearsal. I remember our conductor, Heather, telling us not to sing at our full voices so I took that one step further and just mouthed a large part of the rehearsal :) I also remember trying not to faint by drinking enough water and using my choir binder as a sun shield since it was the late afternoon and the heat was relentless. As well, due to the fact that we sang so poorly, the Hungarian conductor demanded that we have an mandatory emergency rehearsal scheduled the next day so he could bombard us with further insults.

















Good times...I remember we were going to skip out the extra rehearsal to rehearse our competition repertoire (since we have advanced on to higher levels in the competition) and send our festival tour guides (wearing our casual uniforms) to represent us at the rehearsal. However, this did not pan out as it was tipped off to the festival that we were contemplating not showing up. It's funny now when I think about it since it's quite amusing and inspiring to think how choristers will sing anywhere because they just love to sing. That, my readers, is the making of true musicians.