There is a real sense of pride and excitement when one is about to share something important with new communities. It is not the type of pride riddled with hubris and superiority, but rather, a feeling of accomplished satisfaction in the work that we have done and an enthusiasm to share that with others. The works that we took on tour each had an important role in our season this year as well as favorites from the past.
Photo by Jordan van Biert prior to the Vancouver concert
We were able to share Cy Giacomin's "Our Father" after our premiere of the work in February, Matthew Whittal's "Cradle Song" and Raimundo Gonzalez's "My Soul," all of which have not been performed in Vancouver or Yellowknife. Haraldur's Sveinbjörnsson's "Memento Mei" is a pretty bold opener and Ugis Praulins' "Laudibus in Sanctis" is quickly becoming an encore piece for us once our Soundstreams performance of it in February 2014 solidified it in our repertoire. It was also fun to showcase some pop tunes like Stand By Me and All About that Bass by the men in PCC, which they performed at their male concert this year.
Sunshine at Ryerson United
It is also comforting to pick up where we left off in terms of singer camaraderie from our tour last year in Ottawa and Halifax. It's nice to understand the social flow of members in the group so if you need some personal time to explore or you have no plans but just want to hang out with people there are always options. We had a Facebook group where we could post up-to-date information about venue locations and airport shuttle departure times; there were also posts on sushi reservations where people could dib open seats and photos people snapped during a post-concert reception. There is a sense from all the choristers that Pro Coro is more than just a job. The singers treat it as a priority in their lives, go to great lengths to make it work within their regular work schedules, and we genuinely love singing together. It is a sentiment I heard from audience members who remember Pro Coro from the past and noted that our renewed optimism is palpable.
One of the things that makes these tours special is the welcoming from the local communities that we receive. The Vancouver Chamber Choir hosted us at Ryerson United Church. VCC and General Manager, Steven Bélanger, was there to greet us with hugs prior to setting up the stage that evening at the church. Scanning the faces in the audiences it was amazing to see choral faces from The Vancouver Chamber Choir, Vancouver Cantata Singers, Cor Flammae, Stellaria Voices, and and Vancouver-based choral composers like Kristopher Fulton, David Archer, and Chris Sivak there supporting us. It is also great to read posts such as this one by Sivak on his thoughts from the audience. Not to mention we had one of the most amazing post-concerts receptions I have and may ever attend in my life at a gorgeous Vancouver home complete with an outdoor patio and swimming pool.
Vancouver reception with Missy, Michael, Ed, Kris, Krista (L-R)
Arrival in Yellowknife
Flying into Yellowknife was stunning when seeing the melting network of fine water capillaries through the sheets of ice from Great Slave Lake. A few minutes would pass and I saw glistening green-blue pools of pools dotting the rocky, tundra landscape. Upon arrival at our hotel, Yellowknife Choral Society conductor, Margo Nightingale, was there to greet us all. She gave us welcome packages complete with tourism information and a lovely pin in the shape of a yellow knife. The hospitality didn't end there since a YCS singer, honked at a group of PCC singers walking and offered us a ride to the church, which we happily took. Following the afternoon of workshops, the YCS hosted us for an amazing potluck at a gorgeous home in the Niven Lake area. So many delicious dishes like quinoa salads, chana masala, and even moose meat cabbage rolls filled the table. It was lovely to chat with many of the choristers in such a comfortable and warm home atmosphere. Many of the PCC choristers were also taking turns in the luxurious massage chair to work out knots from the consecutive plane rides. Walking home from the reception along the Niven Lake trail was also lovely with sunlight still out at 10:30 PM. Sunday in Yellowknife was a great chance to explore some of Old Town Yellowknife and many of the PCC choristers presented workshops on music arrangement, male voices, choral intonation. I even presented about voice care education. The evening concert at the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre was an intimate way to end the visit with our new friends from the YCS. Late night walks back to the hotel are memorable times, especially when the sky is only a royal blue at 11:30 PM and the choir can take up a street lane due to no road traffic.
Walking the line in Yellowknife
It was a quick weekend trip but it was filled with friends, music, and sights I won't soon forget. I can only anticipate what the 2015-16 season of Pro Coro will bring.
A visit to Elysian Coffee
Reunion with Krista in Vancouver!
All-you-can-eat sushi visit
6:15 AM shuttle departure for the Vancouver airport
Artistic Taxidermy
Explorer Hotel in Yellowknife
Yellowknife Choral Society snacks
Niven Lake Trail at 10:30 PM
Brunch attempt #1 at Wildcat Cafe
Successful Brunch #2 attempt at the Dancing Moose
Greetings from YCS at the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre
Post-concert selfie in the sunshine at 10 PM
Time to break out in song at Boston Pizza in Yellowknife
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"I don't like to be the centre of
attention... I am more comfortable with writing and somebody else taking it
into the world," Canadian Composer, Matthew Emery reveals to
me during our interview at Choral Canada's Podium 2014 conference.
In fact, the opposite of Emery's aversion to the spotlight was
occurring over the four day conference. His piece, Lover's Chant, won the
2014 Competition for Choral Writing and was premiered by 2014 National Youth
Choir/Chœur National des Jeunes at Podium 2014. Furthermore, professional
choirs such as the Canadian Chamber
Choir, Pro Coro Canada, Vancouver Chamber Choir, and Elmer Iseler Singers have already
been programming Emery's work to bring awareness to his works. Not bad for
somebody convocating from his UBC Undergraduate degree in Composition
program that coming Wednesday.
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Sitting in the lobby of the Westin Hotel,
Emery emits a poised and calm exterior; however, it is evident there is a
constant stream of interior cerebral activity. As Emery begins by musing
whether or not he should buy a last minute ticket to Vancouver and crash the
UBC Music reception on Wednesday, I realize that I am speaking to Emery at the transition
point from student to full-time Composer. Emery sang in Elementary, Highschool, and Amabile Choirs in his hometown of London ON
before moving to Vancouver to complete his Undergrad in Composition where he
also sang with the UBC University Singers . Most recently, he was singing with Larry Nickel in Jubilate
while living in Vancouver. Emery traces his start in composition to Grade 10
when he began experimenting with chords on the piano and writing them down.
From there he began pondering how pieces could be better or what he would like
to sing as a chorister.
"If you don't sing in a choir, you won't
be able to write for choir very well," he states with a gentle
bluntness. Emery feels that he is conservative in all of
his own writing. "I might throw in a gliss or something in my next
piece," he says, granting me a subtle smile before continuing, "but
I'll probably stay pretty tame. There's other people to do the crazy
stuff." He provides examples such as R. Murray Schafer or
Pro Coro gargling water during their performance of Ugis Praulins' The Nightingale to
highlight the possibilites writing for voice. "In some ways, voice may be
the most versatile instrument," he states with a serene awareness.
In terms of starting a composition, Emery
reveals that it all begins from the poetry: "I don't really hear a melody
first and find the poem to fit that. Just reading the poem I come up with the
melody or the chords. Or the form of the piece could be related to the text in
some way. But then the instrumental pieces that I write I would try to find
inspiration from nature, buildings or architecture." While Emery worries about
running out of public domain poetry, he also realizes that there are great
poems he doesn't want to use because he thinks there are already perfect settings
of them, citing
Stephen Chatman's "Remember Me," as an example. "I don't
think I could a better musical expression of that poem," he plainly
states.
It is clear that choral music is at the heart
of Emery's compositional voice."I grew up singing so [choral music]
is what comes most naturally to me. When I think of music, I immediately think
of singing something. Having the text and singing poetry is what makes choral
music so inspiring and powerful that you can take a meaningful thought from
someone else, combine it with music, to make a great thing," Emery says
with an enlightened tone. Emery's self-imposed structure is impressive.
He sets a goal to write a piece every other week, resulting in 24
choir pieces a year. He reveals more information on his process: "I've
always been on a routine. I try to just write on the weekdays all morning, have
lunch around 12, and edit all night. Somewhere in there, I'm always reading
poetry. Sometimes I take the afternoon off from composing to do the work,
e-mailing publishers or scores or finding poems. Originally, at UBC, that's
when nobody was using the practice rooms from 7 AM until classes started and it
was quiet where I didn't have to compete with the Opera singer or Tuba player
beside me."
He notes that he has future aspirations to
write a Cantata piece for Choir and Orchestra or something intimate with one
voice per part, similar to David Lang's Little Match Girl Passion.
While Emery prepares for a season as Amabile
Choirs' Composer in Residence, he will also be heading to the United States for
other compositional residencies this upcoming year. The opportunity to work
one-on-one with the singers performing his works is an aspect of his job that
he welcomes. "I really enjoy going to the rehearsals. You can say whatever
you want. The singers are not tense yet for the concert. Everyone is just
chill. I spent a good hour with the National Youth Choir in rehearsal and it
was great... it's interesting how people perceive the music. Whether they
absolutely like it or hate it. Some people don't like that it's boring or too
traditional. Or some people love that aspect and say 'it's a breath of fresh
air.' What's most interesting I think is watching the choirs and how they sing
my pieces. Some pieces they release all their tension and it looks like it's
freeing for them. They look very calm and lose all their worries. It's
interesting to watch people performing and see how they visually change," describes
Emery.
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Emery prefers to be behind the spotlight
instead of basking in the attention a premiere draws. "At the concert, I
get all nervous and worried about what happens if it doesn't go well, or what
the person behind me thinks. [The Podium listeners] are toughest audience
outside myself. After the premiere, once it's out there, it's free, and I don't
have to worry about it. But at the first performance, I'm a nervous
wreck," he states in a tone that reveals a rare ripple of insecurity during
the interview. He notes that Podium has been a great time to
reconnect as well as meet some of the Conductors programming his works. Emery
is overwhelmed at the support from Conductors such as Julia Davids, Elroy
Friesen, Michael Zaugg, Jon Washburn, and Lydia Adams. "I can't ask for
anything more. I owe them a lot. Julia put two of my pieces in her new series
with Cypress
Music so that's great. I can't ask for anything better than that," he
states with graciousness. Emery values Conductor insight from their gestural
execution of his works or how he should consider notating a passage for a given
effect. "Taking composition classes at school, you're only getting
feedback from another composer, it is good to get feedback from the other
side."
The future is full of possibilities. Whether
Emery ventures abroad for Graduate studies in Composition or continues to
compose out of London, ON, it is apparent the amount of support from the
Canadian choral community will continue to foster his career. "I'm glad to
be part of Canadian choral community supporting me and other young composers.
We are taking pride in the music of Canada, and supporting our music, which is
what we need."
There is an amazing reaction that occurs when two professional choirs come together on stage. It's like combining the right musical components in the optimum conditions for an amazing musical explosion. It has been a long time since I've been swaddled by so much amazing sound and supported by so many sensitive and experienced musicians. As well, whenever you pair together two like entities, there is a human tendency one cannot resist: comparison.
Whether we admit it or not, we all do it. I approached the inevitable aspect of choral comparison between Pro Coro and the Vancouver Chamber Choir, not from a perspective of competition, but with an air of objective curiosity.
What makes these two professional choirs in Canada different?
Multiple factors come to mind but an important area to consider is the Artistic Directors of each of these respective groups. The Artistic Director of the Vancouver Chamber Choir, Jon Washburn, is actually the founding conductor. The choir formed in 1971. Michael Zaugg is currently in his first season with Pro Coro Canada. If we had to compare groups on overall choral sound, the Artistic Director's gestural voice and vision really distinguish the sound of these two professional groups.
The Vancouver Chamber Choir during their dress rehearsal
As I watched the Vancouver Chamber Choir sing from the balcony of All Saints Cathedral, I was just in awe of their cohesive sense of ensemble. They perform with an impermeable sense of familiarity and you can sense that they can finish each other's musical phrases if they needed to. They executed their pieces with precision, professionalism, and cheeky wit when required, echoing the gestural voice of Washburn.
Due to the fact that Zaugg is in his first season with Pro Coro, we're still in the getting-to-know-each-other phase. Our sense of ensemble isn't the same because we're experimenting with our sound and how to interpret different gestures. It's such subtle detail work but it makes so much difference in our sound as a group. Depending on the gestural attack Zaugg signals to us, we either go with a hard glottal, easy glottal onset, or breathy onset in the beginning our Uģis Prauliņš "Hallelujah" section of "Laudibus In Sanctis." It allows me to speechie geek-out as I consider the different diacritics to apply to the "Hallelujah."
A Pro Coro Quartet running a section from "Laudibus In Sanctis."
