Opening Night

Today was the start of the Edmonton Symphony's Orchestra's Symphony under the Sky Festival! If this is news to you, feel free to read my concert previews in a previous post here.

The evening did not disappoint. The weather was lovely and warm (even after the sun set). There were lots of delicious food vendor options. Tis' the last chance to purchase hotdogs, mini donuts, and lemonade in a festival atmosphere. The music, apart from some mic issues, was pleasant and well-executed.

The program tonight included Bach's Fuge a la gigue in G Major which was light and dancy. This was followed by Bach's Sheep May Safely Graze which reminds me of Christmas and vocal memories of tense solo soprano singing in children's choirs. The violin melody did not sound vocally tense to me... it's just my own personal memories. Following these pieces was Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2 in G minor op. 63. The violin soloist was Karen Gomyo playing on a Stradivarus violin which was purchased by a private sponsor. Upon reading that in the program, I tweeted a message saying that I wished I had a private sponsor :) Gomyo was dressed in a long flowing red gown and played with flexibility and sensitivity. I often find violin players extremely stiff but her body was willowy and responsive to the musical workings of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra behind her. She really showed her technical prowess in the last movement of the concerto which elicited a warm round of applause and standing ovations at the end.

Following intermission, two quick musical themes from Beethoven's Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21 were introduced by the conductor, Bob Bernhardt, so that the audience could listen for them. He played an excerpt from the "Menuetto" movement and noted that Beethoven's version, though in 3/4 time, wouldn't have been danceable due to its quick pace. Therefore, it was renamed as a "Scherzo" which means "joke" in Italian (as pointed out to me in the program). As well, though the piece is supposed to be in C Major, the first movement actually begins with a dominant-tonic chord sequence in the wrong key. Oh, Beethoven, you jokester! The evening was topped off with Brahms' Hungarian Dance No. 5 and No. 6. Brahms' Hungarian Dance No. 5 has been a musical favorite of mine for a long time. Back when there was Napster, it was one of the first classical songs I downloaded!

Tomorrow I'm heading out again to listen to the film scores of John Williams! I've posted some photos of my evening below. Enjoy!




















I received a special blogger nametag!















Nadia in line for mini donuts. The staff were all wearing white collared shirts and black bow-ties :)




















Nadia with her veggie dog from Fat Franks.




















The evening lights under the amphitheatre tent at the festival

It's Symphony Time!

Hello readers!

It's one of my favorite times of the year this weekend: it's the Symphony Under the Sky festival! I've been going to this annual event for many years now and there's nothing that can beat the outdoor ambiance of a symphony concert. The lawn chairs come out, you consume salty popcorn, and eat smokies from the hot dog vendor. Delicious times! Oh yes, and the music is excellent as well. The vibe is just so relaxed that it's a great event to come to even if you're not equipped with an arsenal of musical knowledge. Music should just be enjoyed by everybody! You're really attending for the atmosphere and the music plays in integral role in creating that atmosphere.

Here are some highlights I'm looking forward to this weekend:

September 3-Friday evening-Bach, Beethoven and Brahms

The first night always is a pleasant classical concert. Nothing too intense, just a set list of enjoyable music. On the program for this evening is Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2, Beethoven’s First Symphony, and Brahms' Hungarian Dances No. 5 & 6 (one of my favorites!) and Bach's Sheep May Safely Graze (which will remind me of Christmas since I always hear this song at Christmas).

September 4-Saturday evening: John Williams' Greatest Hits

I've always been an avid fan of movie music. Music is essentially another character in a film so it's crucial that it is well constructed and suited to the movie's overall theme. It'll be an evening filled with John Williams' tunes such as Superman, Schindler’s List, Star Wars, and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. I'm looking forward to this evening greatly!

September 5-Sunday evening: The Piano Men

I won't be attending this concert but the tunes of Billy Joel and Elton John will be heard throughout the evening. If you do go, you will hear the tunes: Candle in the Wind, Rocket Man, Movin’ Out, Just the Way You Are, Piano Man, and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road with piano and symphonic back-up. Should be a great night, let me know how it is if you go!

September 6-Monday afternoon: Great Canadian Songbook

Ah, my favorite event to go to on Labour Day Monday. The Royal Canadian Artillery will shoot guns in Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture during the finale and I will be sure to have my bells/keys ready to shake at the end of the piece as the audience plays a helping role in echoing the victory bells heard throughout Moscow. I'm also interested to hear what other "Canadian hits" I will recognize. Four Strong Winds, Snowbird, Big Yellow Taxi and Heart of Gold are on the program. I know Four Strong Winds but not the other mentioned pieces. I hope to be pleasantly surprised!

It's a very exciting line-up they have for the weekend. There are also afternoon concerts on Saturday and Sunday which you can check-out on their website.

If you want to learn more, just listen to conductor, Bob Bernhardt, and what he has to say about the festival line-up!

Tickets: Available at their box office 780-428-1414 or on their website.

Hope to see you at the festival if you happen to be in Edmonton!

I'll also be live tweeting from the event so you can follow me here if you wish!

Until next time, take care!

"the Artist"

Hello readers!

As promised, I will keep you up-to-date on my choral duties since I have been accepted as a substitute member for Pro Coro! It's my first brush with a professional group, and in this case, I mean professional in the sense that I will be paid. This is a new experience for me!

The first surprise came in the mail a few days ago: my contract! I eagerly opened it and the first thing I saw was my name and "the Artist" in brackets after it. Wow, I've never thought of myself as an "Artist" before! I know it's probably just another generic arts term but it was a term I have never seen attached to my name. It was scary but cool to see that term printed next to my name! After that initial shock wore off, it was just strange having a contract. It outlined various things I would normally do anyway if I was in a choir---showing up for performances, not being late for rehearsal, learning the music etc. but it just made it so much more real to see all those terms written down. The main thing that made my heart panic was the fact that I would need to provide my own uniform. A long sleeved floor length black velvet gown. Where the heck would I obtain something like that!?!?!

I wasn't about to go out spend $100s of dollars for an American choir uniform company to ship me some generic dress that I would have to hem myself anyway! Who knows how many concerts I will be singing at! Maybe this would be my first and last concert with them. It just doesn't make sense to make that kind of investment now. Where would I find a black velvet gown? I have to say, velvet is something not readily stocked in mainstream stores. Maybe I could try a thrift store? an mature lady's store at the mall? I was low on ideas. No matter what, I would need to start hunting. I googled to the far recesses of the internet abyss and came up with a few options but I was resistant to order them even after measuring myself numerous times with a tape measure and looking at individual sizing guides. I cursed the fact that my measurements didn't clearly fall into a specific category. I had a waist measurements for one size but the hip measurements for a completely different size. Oh, the woes of acquiring a uniform! I've gotten use to the luxury of having uniforms provided for me where all I would need to do is pay a rental fee. I called my mother explaining my predicament in an exasperated tone. In order to placate me she said that it wouldn't be that hard to make and that we could just buy some cheap Halloween costume type velvet and she could sew one. Essentially, it would end up looking like a tube with sleeves. Yay! I would not be on the stage naked! Thanks Mom!

However, as a back-up, I also defaulted to an extremely handy tool: Twitter. I posted a message inquiring whether anybody had any ideas of where I could find a velvet gown. After a teasing reply from my sister asking me if the dress was in an effort to realize my dream of becoming a nun, I was delighted to get a response back from my friend Christina. She asked me if I would be interested in a velvet tent. I was slightly confused by the message and started to imagine a velvet dress with scoopy draping. When I did see her in person where she explained the fit of the dress and how it was made for her (for another choir she was in)... I began to have hope. It sounded like a dress that was specifically designed to be a uniform! We are roughly the same height, I'm a tad bit shorter and she says the dress is very forgiving fit-wise. She confessed that since the fabric is so stretchy she even wore a snowsuit under it one year when she had to carol outside in it. She promised to bring it for me the next day. She wanted me to try it right away so I put it on while at a Starbucks to see the fit. Also, I didn't go into the bathroom. I just put it on over my leather jacket and jeans. Christina and another friend dissolved into hysterical laughter---watching me wiggle my way into the dress while out in public. It actually fit pretty well! I required some help taking it off since it was sticking to my jacket so I had to raise my hands and get Christina to peel it off of me. Good times!

Upon arriving home, my mom was relieved to see that I had found another option. She looked at the dress and said the velvet is a lot nicer than the cheaper costume velvet we had in mind. I was glad to have another thing off my mind since the last thing I need to do is run around searching for a velvet gown.

The next thing will be learning the music for the Pro Coro! I just picked it up today so I will update you on my progress while I learn it!

Until next time, take care!

An Italian Jaunt

Replica David outside the Palazzo Vecchio


Greetings readers!

I am back from my jaunt around Italy and thought I would do a photo post as well as recount some musical experiences I had while traveling.

There is something that I must preface this post with first: I am not a "touristy" tourist. Well, at least I try not to be. I make sure my travel wardrobe does not include components of the following items: white runners, thick white sport socks, khaki bermuda shorts, a gawdy patterned button-up shirt, and a fanny pack. You may scoff at my outdated and stereotypical description but these fashion violators can often be seen around the most touristy of sites. I mean you no offense if you are one of these people---it's just not my style :)

The first musical experience that occurred was on a gondola ride into the heart of Venice. Our tour group booked 6 gondolas and on one of them happened to have a male singer as well as an accordion player. However, in going back to my initial point, I am often very resistant towards doing "touristy" things. I know this sometimes can't be avoided (a gondola is almost a must-do activity in Venice) but I'd much rather wander around on my own and figure things out (it makes me feel more like a local). Thus, when musicians are hired to entertain my tourist self when I've already allowed myself to indulge in the tourist activity of a gondola ride... it's like tourist overkill to me.






















Instead of just enjoying the music, I wonder to myself---How many performances do they have to do in one day? How did they land this gig? is the vocal strain in the singer due to the fact that he's not properly looking after himself in between performances? How difficult it is to stand in a shaky gondola and sing? Have they ever fallen in? Do they get paid a percentage in tips or do they work on an hourly basis? How many times they have played Santa Lucia? Are they're totally sick of all their repertoire? Do they want to toss it in the canals? These are the things I ask myself.

It makes me sound a bit jaded but I often find myself looking at scenarios like this through a musician lens. Maybe the musicians absolutely love their job? Maybe they love performing on a moving stage? Maybe they love meeting lots of different people? Maybe they like working outside? I can how all those things make their job appealing. I do give the music one thing, it really creates an atmosphere. Without the music you would just focus on the creaking of the boat and the debris floating in the canal water. Not appealing. I suppose in moments like that, I should just take a deep breath, embrace the fact that I am, indeed, a tourist and I should enjoy these musicians in a tourist manner and not think so much about it. Easier said than done I must say!

In Venice I was also about to enjoy a bellini at Cafe Florian in St. Mark's Square while listening to this group. They played lots of familiar songs such as La Vie En Rose and Roxanne. Music is really the perfect complement to people watching.















Another lovely moment was catching some gorgeous Gregorian chant from the Franciscan monks during evening mass at the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi. I think Assisi was one of my favorite places. It's a quiet hill-top town. Church bells chime throughout the city, gorgeous and quaint buildings line the streets, and the city just has this sleepy energy. Also, one evening in Assisi I went out for a drink, and while sitting on the patio, I could see monks still walking the streets. There were a few pairs of them walking with members of their brotherhood all dressed in their brown robes and leather sandals conversing with their hands clasped behind their back. It just makes a location that much more atmospheric to see locals going about their daily life.

Time for a mini confession: I totally wouldn't mind being a monk. You get room and board, you don't have to worry about what you're going to wear, you get to lead a quiet lifestyle, and you get to sing gorgeous chant music in an excellent acoustic weekly (if not daily). I think the latter part of the perks list particularly resonates with me. Look at how chilled out the monk is in the picture below. Seems like life is pretty good.






















Alas, my destiny is not to be a monk but it's nice to think of what other options might be open. I suppose I should be thinking of a nun instead of a monk (if I wanted to be realistic) but a girl can dream right?

At any rate, hope you enjoy the pictures!























Florence


















Pompeii






















Outside the Coliseum in Rome























On a boat cruise around the Isle of Capri























I did toss a coin into the Trevi fountain so hopefully I will return to Rome and the rest of Italy someday!

A Choral Opportunity

Greetings readers!

Now that many of my fellow Belle Canto choristers are back in Canada, and Amy B. finished up the last of her guest blogger posts, it is time for this blog to be transferred back to my choral-centric ways. I can't say that I've been too busy with choir for the past while. While Belle Canto was in Italy, I was constantly checking my Facebook for photo and status updates from the choir. Even though I wasn't there... I really felt like I was there. When I would see photos of the whole choir performing I could see the spot where I would be standing and the sites I would have seen had I been with them. However, I don't feel too sorry about myself since I am actually headed to Italy in August! Just because I can't participate in the competition doesn't mean I can't tour the country on my own. This time next week I will be in Rome!

I suppose it is time to give you all an update what I have been up to during the time my choir was away. Yes, I was busy with all my school and clinic commitments but I have also had an ongoing project from the end of April. If some of you may remember a recording project I took on at the end of April, which I blogged about in this post, I can now report what those recordings were actually for. I was actually auditioning to be on the substitute list for the professional adult choir here in Edmonton: Pro Coro.

Shocking, I know!

For my fellow choristers reading this entry---do not fear! I am not leaving Belle Canto. I just thought it was time that I tried something new. It was rather impulsive decision. I was just randomly on their website while I was taking a break from studying for my Motor Speech Disorders final, and their sidebar message had me hooked:














They were still going to consider audio submissions for singers to be placed on the substitute list! I thought this was the perfect opportunity! I knew that I wouldn't have the time to be a full-time member, since I'm still in a full-time Master's program, but I thought that being on the substitute list would provide me a chance to sing with them without being tied down for the whole season. Most of the choristers in Pro Coro are professional musicians or they are voice students studying at the University. A little bit out of my comfort zone but I'm used to being the odd one out when it comes to performing in these groups.

My audio submissions were considered and I received a message back saying that there was a possibility that I would be considered for the substitute list. That was nice of them to let me know! Then a few weeks ago I received and e-mail from the assistant conductor, telling me that they were interested in hearing me live to assess my musical and sight-reading skills. I was worried. It has been years since I've done a live audition (we don't re-audition the same choristers every year in Belle Canto to save time). It was also one of those times where I wish I would have taken an aural skills class in University. I knew sight-reading would be tricky for me because I'm actually not the best sightreader. In choir, after the first run-through of a piece, we hardly ever sightread just for the fun of it so I rarely practice sightreading. Learning notes quickly in a choir is one thing but what about musical group sensitivity? How can that be assessed while in an audition situation? Sometimes I feel like you're tested like a soloist in a choir audition. However, I also realized that if I want to get into more professional groups, I was going to have to learn how to go through a professional audition process in order to get into them. It's high time I stopped complaining and did something about it.

On the day of the audition, I went warmed up, dressed well, and ready to get beat-down by the sightreading passages. It was actually a pretty calm experience. I had trouble getting a good breath at some times so my breath support did not fuel me as long as I would have liked for some of the long aria passages. However, chord and interval singing, range testing etc. went smoothly. The sight-reading started easy and got progressively more complicated. By the end I had no idea what the line was supposed to sound like. It looked at the notes and they were all just random intervals all over the staff. I tried my best and moved on.

Another interesting part was when I was asked to sing a "whole tone scale". I tried to grasp at the residual theory knowledge from my childhood and realized I was thinking of a "whole tone" but that was not necessarily a "whole tone scale." I looked at my auditioner puzzled. I knew that feigning understanding would not serve me well so I confessed I was not familiar with that term. He played the scale for me a few more times. It sounded strange. Definitely something I had not sung before. He played it one more time and asked me to try it. I butchered it. Then he explained to me the 4th note was a tritone and to try again and I got it spot-on. Hopefully, I was able to learn it quickly enough to convince him that I'm not a complete musical dud.

The whole audition didn't last for very long, and before I knew it, I was being escorted out the door. He told me he would run my audition results and recordings pass the principal conductor, Richard Sparks, and that they would get back to me. Overall, I was just glad for the opportunity to step out of my musical box.

Anyway, a few days after I received a message from Mr. Sparks. They would like me to sing at the first concert of their season on October 3, 2010. I heartily consented!

Sometimes, when you've been in a choir for too long, you no longer feel challenged and start wondering if you're actually any good because you don't feel like you're actually getting any better. I took this audition process to see how I compared to other choristers in the city and it seems like I'm good enough to at least fill in! Hey, that works for me! I'm excited for this opportunity and to see what new things I can learn throughout the process. Stay tuned in September as I definitely will have thoughts in relation to the rehearsal process.

Until next time, take care readers!

Guest Blogger Series: Singing in Italy

Photo Credit: Amy B.
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Singing in Italy

GUEST BLOGGER: Amy B.











Since I’ve been fortunate to be the guest blogger on The Choirgirl, I thought it was appropriate to end on a musical note. We’ve just finished a week and a half of singing our faces off, and I would be remiss if my blogging didn’t reflect this. I can tell I am an inexperienced/uncertain/rookie blogger, because I couldn’t bring myself to blog during our time in Gorizia – I felt like I shouldn’t comment on an experience while we (and other choirs who read The Choirgirl blog) were still having it….I know, I know: this is exactly what bloggers usually do (be current) but I couldn’t. So I didn’t. And now I am forced to give you a synopsis of our very busy tour – hopefully I don’t miss much.

Since I am a person who appreciates moments, I’ve made a list of some of the singing moments that stand out from this tour:

Most Amazing Church Performance Experience in Italy: The Mass we sang at Chiesa di Sant’Agostino, in San Gimignano, for sure. For starters, I was so overheated from a couple of days without air con and the heat of the morning (see previous blog post about heat) that I got very sick just before service began….not my finest moment. Fortunately, I was able to regroup to sing all but 1 of the selections we shared at mass. The acoustic in the church was lovely and we sang so well, our director had a teary moment at the end of the Carillo Ave Mario. We had 2 masses to sing that day, the second one being at Basilica San Marco in Venice, so we figured if mass #1 was this good, the second one would be an AMAZING experience for sure!

LEAST Amazing Church Performance Experience in Italy: The Mass at Basilica San Marco, unfortunately. Maybe it was the anticipation that killed it for us…..or, MAYBE it was the SOUND CHECKS ON THE OUTDOOR STAGE DIRECTLY OUTSIDE IN SAN MARCO SQUARE WHICH BOOMED through the church through most of the mass. Unfortunate, especially since the concert they were sound checking for wasn’t even until the following day! The acoustic in the church was disappointing, and it took the priest a while to warm up to us. Also, we had to sit in a very odd arrangement to sing, which took some getting used to. And there was a lot of heat. And standing. We sang well, but it just wasn’t the same. Boo.

Buggiest Concert: Piazza San Pietro Martire, in Monza, by a mile – mosquitoes EVERYWHERE. Lucky for us, my fabulous husband ran out and found bug repellent for all of us (right around the time the farmacia’s were all closing, I’m told, so it was quite a feat!). We have a picture of everyone spraying themselves down prior to the outdoor concert – very funny. The concert was in a beautiful courtyard in the middle of a cloister, with a lovely garden. We sang in the garden and our audience sat along the outdoor hallways on two sides. The concert didn’t start until 9:00 but this did not allow for much cooling of the temperature – even our Italian hosts were concerned about the heat! A 9:00 start time also meant that lights were required for us to see and for our audience to see us....heat-producing lights, right over our heads, sadly. In the end, the concert was very successful – by this time, much of our music was very comfortable from so much performance and practice, and we were all very focused on perfecting things for the competition, so we sang well. Our hosts were also very gracious, and treated us to good food (and wine) before and after the show.


















Photo Credit: Amy B.

Best Reaction to a Performance We Gave: This is a toss up, because we had very appreciative audiences and fans all the way along, but I think I have to give it to the owner of Castello di Verranzzano Winery. He asked us to sing on his outdoor patio, overlooking his winery, and when we finished, he was speechless and tearful. I recall him saying something about being where he loved to be, doing what he loved to do and hearing such beautiful music all at once….I was very touched. Runner-up reaction goes to Gianfranco, our bus driver, who recorded us singing Sida Rudia and made it his ringtone – it doesn’t get much better than that.

















Photo Credit: Erin M.

Place We Should Have Done a Concert But Didn’t: Postojna Caves. I have never seen anything so amazing, The caves are beautiful and vast and the acoustic was to die for. They actually have a part near the exit called the “Concert Hall”, and they told us the space had a 6 second reverberation time. Cool. Apparently they actually host concerts there fairly often, but we didn’t know this until we got there – this would be a good reason to go back to Slovenia. We sang Kaipavaa there, just for kicks. It was awesome.

















Photo credit: Steven T.

Competition Highlight: Our 20th Century class performance wins it, I think. Every competition has a moment like this, and I think this was ours – we just gelled, and all of the details we’d practiced and obsessed over came together in that moment. We all left the theatre quite excited, agreeing that we had rocked it.

















Photo Credit: Amy B.

Awards Won: Five in total: 2nd place in Folksong, 2nd place in Romantic, 4th place in 20th Century, 4th in the Grand Prix, and a special award for “Program of Most Artistic Interest”.


















Photo Credit: Steven T.

















Photo Credit: Amy B.

The Opportunity to Spend Two Weeks With 23 Amazing Women, Making High Quality Music to be Proud of, In Italy: unforgettable and priceless.

In Italy, we got to know each other. We became an ensemble who could finish each other’s musical sentences. We sang hard and gave it everything we had. It was my privilege to take part, and to share some of our moments with you.


















Photo Credit: Amy B.


















Photo Credit: Amy B.

Guest Blogger Series: Heat and Singers Don't Mix

Greetings Readers!

I hope you've been enjoying the posts from my fellow chorister, Amy, who is composing guest blogger posts for me while Belle Canto is competing in the Seghizzi festival in Gorizia, Italy. As much as it kills me inside to see continuous Facebook updates and the uploaded photos, I can't help but look to see what they're doing! I feel like I'm extremely informed on what is going on! Ah, the amazing way internet connects us all. Amy even said that one of my Hungarian blog readers, Evelyn-a Magnificat Youth Choir member from Budapest, said hi to my choir during the welcome ceremony! I have this warm, fuzzy, choral feeling in my heart. Ah, readers uniting in choral love! Thanks to Ken who even snapped a picture to document this meet!

Miss. Sable

















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Photo credit: Erin M.

Heat and Singers Don't Mix
Guest Blogger: Amy B.












Hello again from beautiful, sunny, sweaty, sweltering Italy! We have been here for over a week now and there are so many things we have learned to love about Italy: the gelato (have I mentioned this before?), the appreciative audiences, the relaxed sense of time, the wine, the gorgeous stone streets and the history around every corner, to name just a few. I wish I could blog about any one of these things, or the music we’ve been able to perform here. But there is this one lingering issue I think we can all agree has tempered our enthusiasm for Italy and for the experience in general: THE HEAT.

Before leaving, I took the liberty of checking the weather forecast for Italy and discovered that it would probably be hot and consistently so – the average high for every day of the forecast was 34 degrees Celcius, and the low was 21. There was never any mention of wind, rain….or any other kind of weather, so I wasn’t expecting any. No surprises and hot days. That’s what I was prepared for.

On average, the weather here HAS been unfailingly consistent. And hot. The average and unchanging temperature range since we’ve arrived has been 38-42 degrees Celsius. No wind, no rain…or any other kind of weather. Just hot.

Nothing looks the same in this heat. Nothing FEELS the same in this heat. OR SOUNDS the same. Every breath, every movement, every note we sing is affected by the oppressive sun.

This seems dramatic, I know, and I’m sure there are people reading this now who are thinking: “Oh come on – how bad can it REALLY be?”….and the answer is REALLY bad. But, true professionals soldier on and we have, for the most part. Many of us now own fans and the sound of them waving in the still and stifling humid air has becoming the white noise of our rehearsals. We are drinking bottles and bottles and BOTTLES of water and powerade, which has created a new standard for bathroom break intervals on long bus trips. We have also developed a fascination for ANY product displayed in ANY store with reasonable air conditioning, and will go to great lengths to check out EVERYTHING in that store in detail before moving on.

















Photo credit: Erin M.

These strategies, however, only help before and after we sing. During hot performances, we have had to employ different techniques to survive and continue to produce music worth listening to. Our casual uniforms have been a blessing, as they are shorter than our formal uniforms, allowing slightly more skin to remain uncovered. Our hairstyles and make up routines have been considerable reduced before singing, since we’ve discovered that it all gets swept away in sweat anyways. Wet cloths against our necks are a great relief just prior to going on stage. Some choristers (who shall remain nameless) have even been known to soak uniforms before wearing them, in order to benefit from the cooling effects of evaporation. Also, not one of us has uttered the words “nylons?” in our director’s presence and so, thus far, we have not been asked to wear them once….at this point, it would seem like adding insult to injury.

The upsides of this weather for singers are few but I’ll mention them: we are almost permanently vocally warmed up in the extreme humidity and we are generally a more pleasing colour after a week of exposure to constant sun, even with the spf 45 sunscreen we’ve been reapplying. As well, we’ve had several neutral audience members tell us that there is a nice “glow” about us as we sing….these people clearly can’t see close enough to spot the sweat running down our backs.

I’m hot just thinking about this, and it’s time to sing again – off for a quick gelato (my all time favorite Italian heat survival technique) before the show!
















Photo credit: Erin M.

Guest Blogger Series: Our First Concert and Other Italian Notes

Our First Concert and Other Italian Notes

GUEST BLOGGER: Amy B.












We’ve just returned from our first concert with Tempus Floridium, and I am pleased to report that everything went quite well. Tempus Floridium is a group of 7 singers with a repertoire of early music, mostly – they had great energy and took on some challenging pieces for such a small group! I especially enjoyed a few of the Italian madrigals they had prepared – I would love for us to sing some of them but I am fairly certain our tongues will never wrap themselves around all of those words!

We also sang well, despite the heat, and managed to share a program of secular and sacred music with our audience. This concert was organized by an arts organization in the city and was a part of a series. As a result, we had very little to do with the set up, and very little idea what to expect from this performance opportunity. What we were greeted with on arrival was a long hill our bus could not climb. AFTER we climbed it, we found ourselves an orangerie with a small auditorium on it, a bar/refreshment stand, a tent being assembled for acrobatics and a few low key Italians having dinner and waiting for the 9:00 concert start time.

After a quick warm up and a brief hello to Tempus Floridium, the concert began. A few things we learned that night about concerts in Italy include:

• It is always good to have a casual uniform. This became VERY apparent as we hiked up the hill, not in our flowy concert dress, but instead in our short, knee-covering skirts and black shirts (red peep-toed shoes optional, although most people waited til the last moment before putting them on).
• Time is relative. Time in Italy is considered differently than at home. In Canada, a concert at 9:00 starts at 9:00, or shortly thereafter; in Italy, a concert at 9:00 begins when everyone is ready…..which was about 9:30….ish. Audiences are different too: in Canada, most people show up for the concert start time; whereas, during this concert, many people arrived part way through and chatted with people they sat with…..interesting.
• Language learning is tricky, no matter where you are. Tempus Floridum thought our Italian was passable, and had many good tips to improve the text of Verdi’s Laudi Alla Vergine Maria, which we performed that night. We noticed that their English was just as good as our Italian, which made us feel a little better about that.
• There is nothing like being away in very different surroundings to make you feel very proud of where you’re from. Nuf said.

It feels good to be singing again, in this lovely place. The next time you hear from me, we will have sung Mass at St. Marco’s, in Venice. Ciao for now!

SOSfest

Photo by: Twila B.

Greetings readers,

I've just had myself a music-filled weekend at SOSfest with my friend Nadia and I have to say that my brain is completely saturated with music. You could play me more music but I don't think my neurons are capable of processing it.

SOSfest is a live music festival in the Old Strathcona area and this is the first year that it has been put on. There is an ever-increasing live music scene in the city and it was quite inspiring to hear the talent that is resulting from it. It's like a mini musical movement right here in my city! There's everything from funk, rap, indie-pop, electronica and folk singer/songwriters and many others emerging. Of course, not all of the artists at the festival were from Edmonton, but I do have to say a large majority of them were. However, most of them were Canadian artists and it's just wonderful to see and hear the talent. In the back of my mind, I always knew there was a lot going on but it's another thing to see all the acts play one after the other in a variety of venues in the area. It's also fantastic that the whole Old Strathcona area, which is the hip culture/night-life area in Edmonton, was turned into a hubbub for live music over the weekend. I felt like I was wearing a wristband of power that allowed me unlimited entry into different concerts in a variety of different venues within the span of a few blocks.

Festivals are always exciting and somewhat frustrating entities because there is just so much to see but you can only be in one place at a time. You have to plan strategically what you are going to see and along the way there are always hits and misses. However, there are those moments when you are in exactly the right place at the right time and you know that you were meant to be at that concert. Definitely had that moment this weekend at the Michael Bernard Fitzgerald concert, but you'll hear more about that later. In order to organize this entry I'm just going to chronologically list the 21 acts I was able to hear within the span of a few days and post some thoughts about them. Feel free to check out links to these artists to learn more and hear sound clips.














Photo by: Twila B.


Friday

Daniel Moir: a Edmonton singer and songwriter. Not too many people in the audience but it felt very intimate and I was interested to hear him after an article about him in the Edmonton Journal. He had a very sweet sounding voice which accompanied the gentle sounds of his guitar and I'll be interested to hear what he comes up with in the future. There's still a bit of polishing that needs to happen soundwise and in showmanship but he has the raw goods to do it.
Lorrie Matheson: the concert where I had to whip out my ear plugs (the Arts Barn studio was quite small and the band was playing fully amped). Don't remember too much from this concert other than the lead singers curly hair. They were alright but nothing that gripped me intensely enough to remember.
Foam Lake: an interesting group from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. They used some electronic sound that they merged with the live sound of their band. Listening to clips from their MySpace peaked my interest, but I found that listening to them live didn't really further my interest.
Ann Vriend: a quirky and charming female vocalist. She encouraged audience sing-along participation and enjoyed the use of kazoo solos within her songs. She also looked awesome and had fantastic red shoes and lipstick on. Presentation goes a long way.
Randy Graves: a hard metal band that kind of hurt my ear-plugged ears. I think this was the first act where I was worried for the lead singer and it's almost like I could hear vocal nodules developing. Nobody should be screaming for 1h straight. I had this inexplicable urge to teach him about proper vocal hygiene. It's the speech-path-in-training tendency in me.
Volcanoeless in Canada: a fun group that had this nice dancy vibe to them. Again, a group I listened to beforehand on MySpace but my expectations of them didn't really stack up when I heard them live. I should really stop listening to groups beforehand. But then again, it helped me decide what I wanted to go hear.
Ten Second Epic: unexpectedly enough, the funnest concert of the day! I was somewhat familiar with their hit tunes but I had never seen them live. They've been getting a lot of attention on the Canadian music scene and even abroad with MMVA nominations and their collaboration with JUNO artist: LIGHTS. I have to say that the lead singer spewed out an overwhelming amount of energy with his squinty-eyed intensity while he stared down the audience with a mischievous smile. He also had a Bieber-esqe hair toss. The girls went wild. I also enjoyed the fact that the members of the band don't really look like they belong together. Two of the guitar players looked like they should be playing with an 80s rock metal band with their long stringy hair, the lead singer and drummer look like they're from the current era of teenage rockers, sporting their fitted t-shirts and cut-off shorts, and the other member fell somewhere in between. They were very fun to watch and their energy was infectious. I found myself dancing along even though I didn't know most of their tunes.

Saturday

Bronze Leaf: a mellow concert in the basement of the soon-to-be-closed Megatunes. Bronze Leaf delivered gentle vocals that made me drowsy but not exactly in a bad way. Her grassroots indie-folk vibe was an chill way to start the day.
Erica Vogel: a previous fellow chorister of mine. She studied at the UofA and went to study at the University of Montreal and has just finished the past year at the Manhattan School of Music in NYC. The way she heard about SOSfest was very interesting. I posted a Facebook note alerting my friends to the fact that this festival was on and one of my classical music friends, Leanne, posted a challenge (via Facebook) to the classical musicians in Edmonton to do a concert at SOSfest and bring some diversity to the band-driven festival. Erica stepped up to the challenge and delivered a lovely set of vocal pieces with Latin flavour.
Still Within: a short stop where I checked out this male duo and their guitars but I didn't stay for too long. It was in the Filthy McNasty's bar venue and I wasn't really looking to sit down and order food but it was a nice break for those who wanted to catch music at the festival but needed a food/drink break.
Pre/Post: a neat band that infused pre-programmed synth beats in addition to their live music. Their overall sound needed some polishing, but I still enjoyed watching them. I felt bad that there were only 4 people in the audience, 2 of whom seemed to know the band as well as Nadia and I.
Artisan Loyalists: a hidden gem I discovered at the festival. I wasn't exactly planning on seeing this group but I am glad I did. Ever since my electromusic composition course, I have this new-found respect and interest for electronic music. This group had an interesting tripod set up. They all had their guitars or drums but in front of each of the guitar players was a keyboard or synth board and a laptop. They were able to whip out electronic snip-bits in addition to their live music and I just really felt like they took the time to create music. I also feel that in electronic music I never know where the musical line is supposed to go, since it just all seems to blend together, but I felt like they had movements within their pieces and I was able to hear the music unfold in an organic way. Extremely enjoyable and I definitely will stay updated on what they are up to next.
Concealer: an electronic male/female duo but I felt like the overuse of electronic synth reverb was hurting my eardrums so I peaced out of this set early to go and meet a friend before Darren Frank
Darren Frank: o.k, so I must admit I didn't watch his whole concert, but I was able to hear it from the outside as I chatted with my friend Ross. He sounded quite good from a background music standpoint.

Michael Bernard Fitzgerald: By far my favorite show of the festival! I had feeling I would really like his musical style since he came highly recommended from my friend, Julia, who saw him at the Starlite Room a few months back. I was excited to hear him for myself. His whole look had an artsy appeal about it with a fitted red t-shirt, rolled-up black skinny pants and barefeet in his preppy sneakers. It also made me smile to see a daisy was attached to his guitar. I think it's his life goal to bring happiness to other peoples lives.

Before his set began, he confessed it was a little awkward to just start, since we were watching him tune, so he alerted the audience that he was going to walk through the crowd, out the back, through 2 green doors, pace up and down a bit backstage, and then come on stage again. Maybe this isn't funny at all when you read about it now but his comedic delivery of it just endeared him to the audience. It also helps that whenever he slips a smile during his songs it kind of stuns you for a second since it's just beaming warmth. He also has hilarious between song banter and made fun of the people leaving his set early confessing that he realized that they probably had to go see a podiatrist halfway across town to fix their foot arch and there was no other time that they would be seen other than at 10:45 pm. Serves them for leaving his concert early! I also enjoyed his quirky on-the-spot twisting as he played his pieces. His music has a flair of happy quirkiness with neat lyrics, cute keyboard chords, and clipped vocal attack. However, he was using an electric guitar for most of the concert and he confessed that he enjoyed how "bad-ass" he sounded. Overall, he had a very unique presentation style-both musically and visually.

I think the highlight of the concert was when he began playing "Brand New Space" and two girls jumped up in the audience and started dancing, and then two more girls, and then suddenly there was a huge hoard of girls at the front dancing in front of him as he played! Eventually he beckoned them to come on stage and dance behind him and he told the rest of the audience to stand up and dance along. At this point, I didn't hold back any longer, I jumped up, grabbed Ross' hand, and we both ran towards the stage! We all danced in a massive on-stage group while somebody filmed (I have a feeling this might be on Youtube) and he even altered the lyrics of his piece to have a hint of Baby by Justin Bieber as we danced. Fun times! When else can you have a spontaneous dance party behind an awesome artist on stage? I left the concert on a dance high and completely satisfied with the musical offerings.

The Paronomasiac: an electronic dance DJ we caught the end part of at the Pawn Shop. We wanted to catch 2 other bands at the Billiards Club. Wheat Pool (and Edmonton alternative-country-rock band) and Wool on Wolves (an Edmonton folk-rock band) but there was a long line to get in so we went to the Pawn Shop venue instead.
Brett Miles and Magilla Funk Conduit: a fun band with funk tunes. Maybe not my exactly my personal music tastes but it was still fun to listen to them jam.
Cadence Weapon: He is the newest Poet Laureate of the City of Edmonton and he just so happens to be a rapper. I've never seen him in action but my interest was peaked ever since I heard his name announced. The Poet Laureate, historically, "served as the official chronicler of state events and occasions and in ancient times, the Laureate was the central means for recording and communicating history." I think the City of Edmonton is daring to choose a rapper to be the poet but I also think that it is an inspiring choice since it acknowledges the fact that poetry can come in many forms but it's about the message and not the vessel it comes in. It was amazing to hear the words roll of his tongue and all I could hear was a blurred speech output. My stamina was definitely waning at this point in the evening since it was just after 1am when he came on stage, so I caught a few of his pieces, and then had to peace out to get some rest.

Sunday

The Whitsundays: a very interesting alternative-indie band from Edmonton. They had some nice trios of voice choruses in their songs and just something appealing about their sound overall. They also used theremin's which scored them points for my geeky electromusic side. I'll be interested to see what they're up to in the future.
YOAV: a very unique one-man-band. He utilized pedals to establish a percussive bassline and achieved a very rich overlay of sound consisting of percussion and instrumental effects in his song by just using his guitar. It was just neat to watch him at perform since it just requires to much coordination to make music like he does.
Shout Out Out Out Out An excellent end to the festival! This Edmonton band used their electro dance beats and sound filters to get the whole street hopping in a massive dance party. I've never seen that many people dancing on the streets of Whyte Ave! I hope it won't be the last time!

Overall, I dub the SOSfest a huge success given it is it's first year and I heard it mentioned that they only started planning for it about 4 months beforehand. To coordinate a huge number of venues, numerous artists, sound technicians, volunteers, and the shutdown of a main street within Edmonton is no small feat. I was able to hear a ton of local music, which I would have never been able to experience altogether in one weekend, and I have the festival organizers to thank for that. I hope this is just the first SOSfest of many more to come!

What a fantastic weekend! It makes me miss my choir less!














Photo by: Twila B.

Guest Blogger Series: The Arrival in Florence

Greetings readers!

As you may have read in my previous post, I was able to get one of my fellow Belle Canto choristers, Amy B. to guest blog for me while they are on tour in Italy. She has already composed her first entry (they left on Tuesday) and I've posted it for you to read below. If you enjoy more travel related posts, another chorister from Belle Canto, Kate, is updating her travel blog daily so you can check out some of her stories and pictures as well!

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The ARRIVAL IN FLORENCE

GUEST BLOGGER: AMY B.

Well, it has been over 24 hours since we all arrived in Italy, so I figured it was time for my first kick at blogging……:

We flew into Florence at 1:00 yesterday afternoon. And, it is a beautiful place – gorgeous old buildings, stone streets, frescoes and sculptures everywhere…. not to mention the gelato! I think Italy and I are going to get along just fine.

Now, I am under no illusions: I know that I am here to work – to sing my face off and to “face off” against other choirs (particularly “the choir in the Czech republic” – the subject of a future blog post, I’m sure). But so far, this has been a very laid back tour…. more like a vacation I am casually taking with some acquaintances of mine, all of whom happen to sing… the exact same repertoire as I do.

Actually, there hasn’t even been any singing yet! A few singers, scattered amongst the regular plane passengers, might have been heard practicing their parts in hushed tones, of course, but nothing all together (like a rehearsal in the airport, for example). One of my roommates copied the text for one of our pieces onto her itinerary for the day, so that she could review it as we walked. Over breakfast I did hear a couple of singers discussing the German text they may or may not have memorized yet, but this topic was quickly overtaken by talk of how everyone slept, what we might see at the Uffizi and, most importantly, what kind of gelato we might have today. But, so far anyways, none of this has resulted in any actual singing.

I think we have all just been overtaken by this place….it’s really the only explanation. How else could 24 choir girls from Canada completely lose track of their objective? It is so hot here (38 degrees for the last 2 days) and every street and statue and building has a history to hear about. Couple this with good food and (in case I haven’t already mentioned this) GELATO, and I can hardly remember the words to verse 2 of Tamburinshlagerin.

I’ll bet the choir from the Czech republic is rehearsing right now….with no gelato in their tummies.