Finding the Common Ground between Choral Conductors and

Transcription

Volume 34 No. 1 Fall/ Automne 2015
ISSN 0816-7464
Choral Canada exists to celebrate and champion
choral music for all Canadians.
Choral Canada a pour vocation de célébrer et
de promouvoir la musique chorale pour tous
les Canadiens.
THE JOURNAL OF CHORAL CANADA
LE JOURNAL DE CANADA CHORAL
Finding the Common Ground between
Choral Conductors and Vocal Pedagogues
By Lesley Leighton
Masculinity and Adolescent Male Participation in Choirs
By Tyler Turner
Nipiit Katittut – Voices United: Inusksuk Drum Dancers
of Iqaluit and the Ottawa Children’s Choir
By Jackie Hawley
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE DES MATIÈRES
CHORAL CANADA
08
President’s Message
Message de la présidente
By Marta McCarthy
12
FOCUS COLUMNS
RUBRIQUES SPÉCIALES
30
Advocacy
Activités de plaidoyer
Co-creating significance:
Life-long choristers speak out
on conductors and the choral
experience
By Caron Daley
By Diana Clark
FEATURE ARTICLES
ARTICLES PRÉSENTÉS
16
Choral Canada Choral
Competition Review
By Victoria Meredith
22
32
By Sarah Morrisson
34
R. Murray Schafer Apocalypsis:
Toronto Choral Event of
the Century
Report from CMEA National
Conference: “Connecting
The Community”
REVIEW
CRITIQUE
38
By Dominic Gregorio
25
Masculinity and Adolescent
Male Participation in Choirs
By Tyler Turner
27
Finding the Common Ground
between Choral Conductors
and Vocal Pedagogues
By Lesley Leighton
Nipiit Katittut – Voices United:
Inusksuk Drum Dancers of Iqaluit
and the Ottawa Children’s Choir
By Jackie Hawley
By Marta McCarthy
24
Considering Creativity:
Moments of Illumination
in the Youth Choir Rehearsal
CD Review: Chronos Vocal
Ensemble “Sacred A Capella
Music 1843 – 2010”
By Dominic Gregorio
40
In Memoriam:
Christopher Jackson
ANACRUSIS PUBLICATION SCHEDULE
Meghan Hila,
Administrative Director / Directrice Administrative
CALENDRIER DE PUBLICATION
D’ANACRUSIS
Choral Canada Board / Conseil d’administration
Executive / Conseil d’administration
Marta McCarthy,
President / Présidente
John Wiebe,
President-Elect / Président élu
Issue
Vol. 34 #2
Winter 2016
Due Date
December 15, 2015
Distribution Date
February 2016
Vol. 34 #3
Spring/Summer 2016
March 15, 2016
June 2016
Vol. 35 #1
Fall 2016
August 15, 2016
October 2016
Jeff Joudrey,
Past President / Ancien président
Amy Pun,
Secretary / Secrétaire
Denise Gress,
Treasurer / Trésorière
Vice Presidents with Portfolios /
Vice-Présidents de portefeuilles
Diana Clark,
Advocacy / Les activités de plaidoyer
Dominic Gregorio,
Communications
Numéro
Nº 34 #2
hiver 2016
Date d’échéance
15 décembre 2015
Date de publication
février 2016
Charlie Andrews
Development / Développement
Nº 34 #3
printemps/été 2016
15 mars 2016
juin 2016
Provincial Representatives /
Représentants provinciaux
Nº 35 #1
automne 2016
15 août 2016
octobre 2016
Rachel Rensink-Hoff
Programmes & Services
Willi Zwozdesky (BCCF)
Brendan Lord (ACF)
Denise Gress (SCF)
Robert Neufeld (MCA)
Elizabeth Shannon (CO)
Charles Decroix (ACQ)
Shawn Henry (NBCF)
Tim Callahan-Cross (NSCF)




Editorial Review Committee
Cover:
Congratulations to Shallaway and their conductor Kellie Walsh,
named “Children’s Choir of the World” at Llangollen, Wales!
Dean Jobin-Bevans, Chair (ON)
Andrée Dagenais (MB)
Rachel Rensink-Hoff (ON)
Gerald Langner (SK)
Victoria Meredith (ON)
Caron Daley, ON
Ian Loeppky, (Alabama, USA)
Vaughn Roste (Georgia, USA)
Patricia Abbott (QC)
Dominic Gregorio,
Editor / Rédacteur en chef
[email protected]
Inés Aguileta
Layout and Design / Configuration et Conception
Anacrusis is the official journal of Choral Canada.
Subscription is by means of membership
in Choral Canada. Guidelines for the submission
of academic articles may be found on the
Choral Canada web site
http://www.choralcanada.org
04
ANACRUSIS FALL / AUTOMNE 2015
Anacrusis est le journal officiel de Canada
Choral. Anacrusis est distribué aux membres
de Canada Choral. Vous trouverez sur notre site
les directives pour les soumissions des articles
académiques http://www.choralcanada.org
│
CALL FOR PRESENTERS
Student Chapter Poster Session
APPEL DE PRÉSENTATIONS
Session d’affiches du Student Chapter
The Student Chapter of Choral Canada, in conjunction with Podium 2016, invites
graduate and undergraduate students to present in the Student Chapter Poster
Session at the Podium 2016 conference. Poster presentations showcase your
research in a clear and visually appealing way. Delegates attending the Student
Chapter Poster Session will have a chance to look at your display board and speak
with you about your research. There is no better way to share your work with
conference delegates!
Poster Session Tidbits
• Presentation display boards may include a variety of audio/visual materials
• Presentation session allows for a brief verbal introduction and open discussion with conference delegates
• Abstracts should be relevant to choral music, choral composition, music
education, or arts administration.
Please visit our website for more information and full submission
guidelines: http://incantoblog.com/poster-session
The deadline for abstract submissions is January 15, 2016.
Abstracts and inquiries may be directed to Sara Brooks at:
[email protected]
Le Chapitre étudiant de Canada Choral, dans le cadre de Podium 2016, invite
les étudiants universitaires et les étudiants diplômés à participer à la séance
d’affiches du congrès Podium 2016. Les présentations par affiches vous
permettront de présenter vos recherches d’une manière claire et visuellement
attrayante. Les délégués qui assisteront à la séance d’affiches auront l’occasion
de voir votre affiche et de discuter de vos recherches avec vous. Il n’y a pas de
meilleur moyen de partager les fruits de votre travail avec les délégués à Podium!
Détails
Les panneaux d’affichage peuvent inclure du matériel audiovisuel.
La séance de présentations permettra une brève introduction verbale et une discussion ouverte avec les délégués au congrès.
• Les résumés doivent permettre de constater que vos travaux sont pertinents à la musique chorale, à la composition chorale, à l’éducation musicale ou à
l’administration des arts.
•
•
Pour obtenir plus de renseignements et pour connaître les lignes directrices,
veuillez consulter notre site Web : http://incantoblog.com/poster-session/
La date limite pour la remise des résumés est fixée au 15 janvier 2016.
Les résumés et les questions xpeuvent être envoyés à Sara Brooks :
[email protected]
CALL FOR RESEARCH PAPERS
APPEL DE COMMUNICATIONS
DE RECHERCHE
The Editorial Board for Choral Canada is accepting research papers for Anacrusis,
the magazine of Choral Canada, which will be published three times annually.
For submission guidelines, please visit Choral Canada’s website:
http://choralcanada.org/publications/anacrusis/
Submissions should be forwarded to [email protected]. All papers
will undergo a process of blind peer review. Submission deadlines are
March 15, 2016 and October 15, 2016.
Le comité de rédaction de Canada Choral accueille des communications de
recherche pour Anacrusis, le journal de Canada Choral, qui sera publié trois
fois par an (automne, hiver et printemps).
Pour les directives relatives aux soumissions, veuillez consulter le site
internet de Canada Choral: http://choralcanada.org/fr/anacrusis/
On adressera les soumissions à [email protected]. Toutes les
communications seront soumises à un processus d’évaluation par les pairs en
aveugle. Le date limite pour la soumission est fixée au 1er mars 2016 et au
15 octobre 2016.
MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL – October 1, 2015
RENOUVELLEMENT DE VOTRE ADHÉSION
À CANADA CHORAL – le 1er octobre 2015
Choral Canada memberships are renewable annually, on October 1. Stay
engaged with the choral community through our offerings of programs, services,
and benefits. Choral Canada relies on your membership to provide vital support
to sustaining and developing these benefits. Please renew today by using the
convenient on-line Membership Form accessible from the Membership page
on our web site (http://choralcanada.org/membership/).
If you have questions about the status of your membership, please contact:
[email protected].
L’adhésion à Canada Choral est renouvelable chaque année le 1er octobre.
Poursuivez votre engagement au sein de la communauté chorale par l’entremise
de nos programmes et services. Canada Choral utilise vos cotisations pour
apporter un soutien vital au maintien et à la bonification de ces programmes
et services. Nous vous invitons à renouveler la vôtre dès aujourd’hui en vous
servant du Formulaire d’adhésion en ligne qui se trouve sous ‘Membres’ sur
notre site (http://choralcanada.org/fr/adhesion/).
Si vous avez des questions au sujet de votre adhésion, veuillez nous contacter à
[email protected]
06
CHORAL CANADA
07
PRESIDENT’S
MESSAGE
MESSAGE DE LA
PRÉSIDENTE
Dr. Marta McCarthy is an Associate
Professor at the University of Guelph,
where she has been directing the choirs
and teaching musicianship for sixteen
years. She is a graduate of Westminster
Choir College of Princeton (M.Mus), the
Royal Conservatory of Music (ARCT, piano
performance) and of the University of
Toronto (B.Mus, B.Ed., Ph.D.). Honours
include the 1999 Elmer Iseler Conducting
Fellowship, an Ontario Volunteer Service
Award, and being named a member of the
June Callwood Circle of Caring. In 2005,
she was awarded the Guelph Woman of
Distinction for Arts & Culture. Marta has
led University of Guelph choirs to national
and international acclaim through their
performances at various festivals and
competitions, and in 2014 was conductor
for the Ontario Youth Choir.
L
ike many of you, my second passion,
after music, is gardening. Getting my
hands dirty, planting bulbs and seeds
that hold the promise of new life, enjoying
the colours, textures, and scents of the
garden – these activities rejuvenate me
like an enormous breath of fresh air.
Gardening tends to put us in touch with
the cycles of life, death and regrowth;
nature constantly reminds us that,
contrary to our self-delusions, we are
not so much in control as we think!
Just as in the garden, it’s been a full and
rich summer for Choral Canada/Canada
Choral. Before being on this Board, I had
no idea how much work was required
to deliver the programs and services,
to maintain contact with members and
interested parties, and to fulfill our mandate
to represent the interests of choral
musicians nationally and internationally.
It involves planting a lot of seeds and
doing a lot of digging, pruning, trimming,
and hoeing! I’m happy to share with you
some of the harvest, in the form of good
news, the “fruits and flowers” that have
resulted from the diligence of your Board
and your membership.
On July 31st, the CRA Charities Directorate
confirmed that Choral Canada/Canada
Choral is now a Registered National Arts
Service Organization (RNASO). This is the
result of many months and layers of work,
with positive financial and legal implications.
Designation by the Minister of Canadian
Heritage constitutes recognition by the
Government of Canada that we are a
non-profit organization having as our
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“primary purpose and primary function
the promotion of arts in Canada on a
nation-wide basis”. This permits us to
issue official donation receipts with the
same benefits as registered charitable
organizations. Huge thanks are due to
Board members and most especially to
Denise Gress, our Treasurer and former
Interim Administrator, whose sustained
diligence made this possible.
The timing of this accomplishment is
fortuitous as we launch membership
and fundraising campaigns this fall.
Details of the membership campaign will
be forthcoming in the next e-newsletter;
essentially we are focusing on expanding
our youth involvement, using the networks
of colleges and universities. At the same
time, membership renewals are fast
approaching – we’ll be looking for YOU
to renew your partnership with Choral
Canada/Canada Choral, and we challenge
you to bring a friend into the fold. Our
community of choral music lovers needs
your ideas, your energy, and your passion.
Our fundraising campaign represents
an effort to harness our resources, and
prepare for the future by solidifying our
foundations. We will be asking members
of this organization and members of
the public to invest in social growth, in
the future of our country’s artists, and
in cultural capital. We look to you – our
creative constituents – to share ideas
and to help with this campaign.
The word campaign conjures up the
federal election, and now is the time to
join our Advocacy Committee’s letter-
C
omme plusieurs d’entre vous, j’ai
deuxième passion après la musique : le
jardinage. Me salir les mains, planter des
bulbes et des semences qui recèlent la
promesse d’une nouvelle vie, en appréciant
les couleurs, les textures et les odeurs
du jardin... Ces activités me revigorent
comme une énorme bouffée d’air frais.
Le jardinage tend à nous remettre en
contact avec les cycles de la vie, de la
mort et de la renaissance. La nature nous
rappelle constamment que, contrairement
aux illusions que nous entretenons, nous
ne sommes pas aussi en contrôle que
nous le pensons!
Tout comme dans mon jardin, l’été a été
bien rempli, du côté de Canada Choral. Avant
de me joindre au conseil d’administration
de cet organisme, je n’avais aucune idée
de la somme de travail nécessaire pour
offrir les programmes et services, maintenir
le contact avec les membres et les partenaires,
et remplir notre mandat de défense des
intérêts du monde choral au Canada et à
l’étranger. Pour mener toutes ces missions
à bien, il faut réaménager le terrain, planter
beaucoup de graines et bien remuer la terre...
et le ciel! Je suis heureuse de partager avec
vous une partie de cette récolte sous forme
de bonnes nouvelles, qui sont autant de
fruits du travail acharné de notre conseil
d’administration et de nos membres.
Le 31 juillet, la direction générale des
organismes de bienfaisance de l’Agence
du revenu du Canada a confirmé que
Canada Choral est maintenant un organisme
enregistré de services nationaux dans le
domaine des arts (OESNA). L’obtention de
cette désignation est le fruit de plusieurs
mois de travail et de nombreuses démarches
et elle comporte des implications financières
et juridiques positives. La désignation
d’OESNA par Patrimoine canadien constitue
la reconnaissance par le gouvernement du
Canada que nous sommes un organisme
sans but lucratif dont « (le) but et (la) mission
consistent uniquement à promouvoir les
arts à l’échelle du Canada ». Cela nous
permet de remettre des reçus de dons
officiels associés aux mêmes avantages
que ceux des organismes de bienfaisance
enregistrés. Nous devons d’immenses
remerciements aux membres du conseil
d’administration, et surtout à Denise Gress,
notre trésorière et ancienne directrice
provisoire, dont la diligence soutenue a
rendu cet accomplissement possible.
Cette annonce arrive à point nommé, puisque
nous lancerons des campagnes d’adhésion
et de financement cet automne. Nous
vous donnerons davantage de détails sur
la campagne d’adhésion dans le prochain
numéro de notre bulletin électronique. Je
peux cependant vous annoncer d’emblée
que nous nous concentrons sur l’intensification
de nos activités de promotion de l’engagement
des jeunes, en nous appuyant sur les
réseaux collégiaux et universitaires. En
parallèle, le temps du renouvellement de
l’adhésion approche à grands pas. Nous
espérons que VOUS renouvellerez votre
partenariat avec Canada Choral, et nous
vous mettons au défi d’entraîner un ami
dans notre mouvement! Notre communauté
d’amateurs de musique chorale a besoin
de vos idées, de votre énergie et de votre
passion. Notre campagne de financement
représente un effort pour mettre nos
ressources à profit et pour préparer
l’avenir en solidifiant nos fondations. Nous
demanderons aux membres de Canada
Choral et au grand public d’investir dans la
croissance sociale, dans l’avenir des artistes
de notre pays et dans le capital culturel.
Nous comptons sur vous, nos membres
créatifs, pour partager des idées et pour
nous prêter main-forte dans cette campagne.
Le mot « campagne » ne manque pas
d’évoquer l’élection fédérale... Il est
maintenant temps de prendre part à la
campagne de lettres de notre Comité
de promotion de la musique chorale
canadienne. Montrez à vos politiciens que
la musique chorale et les arts en général
sont importants et que vous vous apprêtez
à « joindre l’acte (de vote) à la parole ». Je
vous invite à lire le message du Comité de
promotion de la musique chorale canadienne
du présent numéro pour obtenir de plus
amples informations.
Le printemps a vu les forsythias fleurir dans
le jardin, et votre conseil d’administration
se réunir à Regina. Nous nous sommes
réunis dans les bureaux de la Saskatchewan
Choral Federation pour trois jours intensifs
d’examen et de planification, suivis par
notre assemblée générale annuelle. Les
différents comités du conseil d’administration
ont travaillé à la rédaction de politiques
et à la préparation de calendriers de
programmes, tandis que le comité
d’administration s’est mobilisé dans son
ensemble pour rédiger un plan opérationnel.
Nous avons ainsi passé en revue notre
situation financière, exploré des pistes
d’initiatives pour mobiliser nos membres
et discuté de possibilité d’initiatives de
recherche et de promotion (notamment
CHORAL CANADA
09
writing drive: Show your politicians that
the Choral Music and the Arts matter
and that you are “putting your money
[your vote] where your mouth is”. Please
see this issue’s Advocacy Message for
specific information.
Spring welcomed forsythias to the garden,
and your Board to Regina. We met at
the Saskatchewan Choral Federation
offices for three days of intense reviewing
and planning, followed by our annual AGM.
Individual Board committees worked
on policy writing and program planning
timelines, while the entire Board focused
on writing a Business Plan, examining our
financial landscape, exploring membership
engagement, and discussing options
for research and Advocacy initiatives
(especially a National Choral Census).
Reports from our many committees
revealed the enormous amount of work
that is being done across the country to
sustain and revitalize programs. The
Podium 2016 team, for example, has
been “preparing the ground and planting
the crops” for a tremendous event: your
experience in Edmonton promises to be
profoundly enriching in multiple ways.
Huge thanks are due to the Podium
Committee and their leaders Laurier
Fagnan and Brendan Lord (ED of Alberta
Choral Federation). Our stay in Regina
ended with a fundraising run/walkathon – Music for the Sole – and dinner with the
SCF Board, to whom we extend warm
thanks for including us.
At that time, we had the pleasure of
meeting Charles Decroix, the new (as of
spring, 2015) Executive Director of Alliance
des chorales du Québec. Charles brings
a wealth of knowledge, energy, and
creativity to ACQ and to our Choral
Canada/Canada Choral Board. He has
just received a grant to launch his own
opera company in Montréal, where he
has recently settled with his wife.
We also extend a warm welcome to
other new Board members. Diana
Clark of British Columbia takes on the VP
Advocacy role. Diana is an elementary
school teacher and conductor of the
Coastal Sounds Children’s Choir. A key
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contributor to our Advocacy Panel since
its inception, Diana is the ideal leader for
this critical role. Our new Constitution
requires that previously appointed
Vice-President positions now be elected.
Therefore, we’re very pleased that both
Dr. Rachel Rensink-Hoff (ON) and Dr.
Dominic Gregorio (SK) agreed to stand,
and were elected for VP Programs &
Services and VP Communications
respectively. Choral Canada/Canada
Choral benefits enormously from
their expertise.
Our Board of Directors also looks
forward to meeting and working with
Shawn Henry, the new Executive
Director of New Brunswick Choral
Federation. Shawn was brought up
in NB and studied music at Dalhousie
University. He then worked and taught
in the Toronto area for many years.
He has recently returned to his home
province and is establishing himself in
the arts community in the Maritimes.
Great news from Newfoundland: Jakub
Martinec has accepted the invitation to
take up a prestigious position as Director
of the Bruneau Centre for Excellence in
Choral Music. This will require him to step
down from the Board of Choral Canada/
Canada Choral; we will be sorry to lose
him but are excited about this phenomenal
new venture. Dr. Martinec will serve the
province of Newfoundland by administering
the generous funds provided by the
Bruneau Foundation. Stay tuned for
lots of important news from Canada’s
easternmost province this year!
We also say a fond farewell to Dr. Joel
Tranquilla (BC), our former VP Advocacy.
Joel and his wife started a family in June
with the addition of baby Everett: the
life cycle continues with a new tenor
for the choir. Last fall, we bid adieu to
Alain Lanctôt, who retired as Executive
Director of Alliance des chorales du
Québec. In June of this year, Dianne
Roxborough-Brown also retired from
her position as Executive Director of
New Brunswick Choral Federation.
To each of these esteemed and
hard-working individuals, we extend
our thanks and best wishes.
Congratulations to all the participants in
the National Competition for Canadian
Amateur Choirs. Thank-you to my fellow
jurors, Doug Dunsmore (NL), Morna
Edmundson (BC), Elroy Friesen (MB)
and Christopher Jackson (QC), who
adjudicated 170 selections, wrote
thoughtful comments, and debated for
three days in order to choose Finalists
and eventually, the prize-winners. The
public enjoyed hearing the entries on
cbcmusic.ca; the jurors, however, did
not know the identities of the choirs,
ensuring that the competition was
completely “blind”.
Hearing the 45 choirs in the competition
was overwhelmingly positive: what
a wealth of musical achievement our
country has to offer! Our thanks to CBC
Radio and especially to Choral Concert,
where host Kathleen Duncan aired (on
June 28th) the winners of the eleven
categories as well as the winner of the
Best Performance of a Canadian work.
On July 1st Unisong graciously welcomed
Choral Canada/Canada Choral to the
National Arts Centre stage in Ottawa,
for the live presentation of the Canada
Council Healey Willan Grand Prize.
M. Aimé Dontigny of Canada Council
for the Arts joined me to present this
prestigious award to Jordan van Biert
and the Chronos Vocal Ensemble
(Edmonton); it was fitting to be in our
nation’s capitol, on Canada Day,
celebrating Canada’s choral heroism!
Choral Canada/Canada Choral
recognizes the critical role of the Canada
Council for the Arts in funding of the
NCCAC and of CBC Music in its promotion,
increasing national awareness of choral
music. Our partnership with each of
these uniquely Canadian institutions
strengthens and connects us in vital ways.
I sincerely hope that you have all
enjoyed a healthy and restorative
summer – in the garden, at the beach,
or wherever your soul finds peace.
See you at Podium 2016 in Edmonton!
sous forme de recensement national
du monde choral).
Les rapports présentés par nos nombreux
comités témoignent de l’énorme quantité
de travail accompli partout au pays pour
soutenir et revitaliser nos programmes.
L’équipe de Podium 2016, par exemple, a
« préparé le terrain et semé les graines »
pour l’obtention d’un événement extraordinaire.
Votre expérience à Edmonton promet d’être
profondément enrichissante de multiples
façons. Je tiens à exprimer ma profonde
gratitude au Comité de Podium et à ses
dirigeants, Laurier Fagnan et Brendan Lord,
directeur général de l’Alberta Choral
Federation. Notre séjour à Regina a pris fin
avec le marchethon Music for the Sole, et
avec un dîner en compagnie des membres
du conseil d’administration de la Saskatchewan
Choral Federation, que nous remercions
chaleureusement de nous avoir ainsi conviés.
À cette occasion, nous avons eu le plaisir
de rencontrer Charles Decroix, le nouveau
directeur général de l’Alliance des chorales
du Québec (ACQ) depuis le printemps
2015. Charles apporte un précieux bagage
de connaissances, d’énergie et de créativité
à l’ACQ et au conseil d’administration de
Canada Choral. Il vient de recevoir une
subvention pour fonder sa propre compagnie
d’opéra à Montréal, où il s’est récemment
établi avec son épouse.
Nous souhaitons également la bienvenue
aux autres nouveaux membres du conseil
d’administration. Diana Clark (ColombieBritannique) assume désormais le rôle de
vice-présidente, Promotion de la musique
chorale canadienne. Diana est enseignante
au primaire et elle dirige le Coastal Sounds
Children’s Choir. Contributrice indispensable
de notre comité d’experts en promotion
de la musique chorale canadienne depuis
sa création, Diana s’avère le leader idéal
pour ce rôle crucial. Nos nouveaux statuts
exigent que les postes de vices-présidents
soient désormais des postes élus, alors
que leurs titulaires étaient nommés, jusqu’ici.
Par conséquent, nous sommes très heureux
de vous annoncer que Dr Rachel Rensink-Hoff
(Ontario) et Dr Dominic Gregorio (Saskatchewan)
ont accepté de rester en place et qu’ils
ont été élus à leur poste respectif, soit
vice-présidente, Programmes et services et
vice-président, Communications. Canada
Choral profite énormément de leur expertise.
Notre conseil d’administration a également
hâte de rencontrer Shawn Henry, le nouveau
directeur général de la Fédération chorale
du Nouveau-Brunswick, et de pouvoir
collaborer avec lui. Shawn a grandi au
Nouveau-Brunswick et il a étudié la musique
à l’Université Dalhousie. Il a ensuite travaillé
et enseigné dans la région de Toronto
pendant de nombreuses années. Il est
récemment retourné dans sa province
d’origine et il s’est engagé dans la
communauté des arts des Maritimes.
Bonnes nouvelles de Terre-Neuve : Jakub
Martinec a accepté le prestigieux poste de
directeur du Bruneau Centre for Excellence
in Choral Music. Cette nomination l’oblige
à démissionner du conseil d’administration
de Canada Choral. Nous sommes désolés
de le perdre, mais nous nous réjouissons
du début d’une nouvelle aventure des
plus phénoménales. Dr Martinec servira
la province de Terre-Neuve et Labrador en
administrant les généreux fonds fournis
par la Fondation Bruneau. Restez à l’affût!
Nous aurons un bon nombre de nouvelles
importantes à vous annoncer cette année,
en provenance de Terre-Neuve et Labrador!
Nous envoyons aussi un « au revoir » bien
senti au Dr Joel Tranquilla (ColombieBritannique), notre ancien vice-président,
Promotion de la musique chorale canadienne.
Joel et son épouse ont fondé une famille
en juin, avec l’arrivée de bébé Everett
: le cycle de la vie se poursuit, avec un
nouveau ténor pour le chœur. À l’automne
dernier, nous avons fait nos adieux à Alain
Lanctôt, qui a pris se retraite du poste de
directeur général de l’Alliance des chorales
du Québec. En juin dernier, Dianne
Roxborough-Brown a elle aussi pris sa
retraite. Elle était directrice générale de la
Fédération chorale du Nouveau-Brunswick.
À chacune de ces personnes laborieuses
pour qui nous entretenons la plus grande
estime, nous tenons à exprimer nos
remerciements et nos meilleurs vœux.
Félicitations à tous les participants au
Concours national pour chœurs amateurs
canadiens. Je tiens à remercier mes
collègues jurés : Doug Dunsmore (TerreNeuve et Labrabor), Morna Edmundson
(Colombie-Britannique), Elroy Friesen
(Manitoba) et Christopher Jackson (Québec),
qui ont départagé 170 sélections, formulé
des commentaires pleins de sagacité et
débattu pendant trois jours afin de choisir les
finalistes, puis les lauréats. Les mélomanes
ont pu écouter les œuvres en lice sur
cbcmusic.ca. Les jurés, cependant, ne
connaissaient pas l’identité des chœurs,
ce qui a permis de s’assurer que les
œuvres étaient jugées à l’aveugle.
Entendre les 45 chœurs qui ont participé
au concours a été une expérience
extrêmement positive : il est impressionnant
de constater toute la richesse musicale
que notre pays a à offrir! Nous tenons à
remercier CBC Radio, et surtout les gens
de l’émission Choral Concert, dans le cadre
de laquelle l’animatrice Kathleen Duncan a
diffusé, le 28 juin, les interprétations gagnantes
des onze catégories, ainsi que la pièce qui a
été couronnée comme « meilleure interprétation
d’une œuvre canadienne ».
Le 1er juillet, Unisong a gracieusement
accueilli Canada Choral sur la scène du
Centre national des Arts à Ottawa, pour l
a présentation en direct du grand prix
Healey-Willan du Conseil des arts du
Canada. M. Aimé Dontigny, du Conseil
des arts du Canada, s’est joint à moi pour
remettre ce prix prestigieux à Jordan
van Biert et au Chronos Vocal Ensemble
d’Edmonton. Quelle meilleure occasion
que la fête du Canada, dans notre capitale
nationale, pour célébrer les héros du monde
choral au Canada? Canada Choral reconnaît
le rôle essentiel que le Conseil des arts
du Canada joue dans le financement de
l’Association des communautés chorales
canadiennes (ACCC), ainsi que l’apport de
CBC Music pour la promotion de l’ACCC
et, par ricochet, pour la promotion de la
musique chorale. Notre partenariat avec
chacune de ces institutions typiquement
canadiennes nous renforce mutuellement
et nous relie de manières vitales.
J’espère sincèrement que vous avez
tous passé une saison estivale des plus
plaisantes et des plus reposantes, que
ce soit dans votre jardin, à la plage, ou
en tout autre endroit où vous trouvez la
paix d’esprit. Au plaisir de vous revoir à
l’occasion de Podium 2016 à Edmonton!
CHORAL CANADA
11
ADVOCACY: 6 more* things you can do to
be a Canadian Choral Music Advocate
ACTIVITÉS DE PLAIDOYER: Six choses
de plus* que vous pouvez faire pour
promouvoir la musique chorale canadienne
By / Par Diana Clark
C
horal Canada’s Advocacy Committee led by Joel Tranquilla, initiated a
number of Advocacy projects last year. I’m delighted to continue this work with
committee members Heather Fraser (NS), Joel Tranquilla (BC), Ki Adams (NFLD),
Meghan Hila and Elizabeth Shannon (ON). Our letter-writing campaign launched
when the federal election was called, and more advocacy resources will soon be
available on the Choral Canada website. Now, we are working towards getting a
national choral census, and having advocacy initiatives to share at Podium 2016
in Edmonton.
Diana Clark, VP Advocacy for Choral
Canada, lives and works in Metro
Vancouver. She is artistic director of
Coastal Sound Music Academy and
an elementary school music specialist
teacher.
Diana Clark, vice-présidente, Promotion
de la musique chorale canadienne,
Canada Choral
More than ever, our entire Choral Canada community must serve as Canadian
choral music advocates, celebrating and championing choral music for all Canadians. Here are some easy and important things that you can do right now, to help
raise the profile of Canadian choral music.
If you aren’t going to be an advocate for Canadian choral music, then who will?
6 MORE* THINGS YOU & YOUR CHOIR CAN DO!
1. Join our Canadian Choral Advocacy Facebook group. Engage with
colleagues, mentor young choral artists, post questions, share ideas, info or data that further supports our cause. Your participation makes you part of the Choral Canada Advocacy Network.
2. Write a letter to your local politicians. The Advocacy Committee has made templates so that your letter-writing efforts can be personal, yet quick and easy to do. Send your letters by email, or post to social media. Find the
templates on the Choral Canada website, Facebook pages or through your Provincial choral organization. Challenge your colleagues to write letters too.
3. Host a party! Bring a network of choral music colleagues together over food and beverage. Organize a casual wine and cheese, or meet at a restaurant where you can talk around the table. Inspiration, sharing, collaboration,
support and advocacy is guaranteed to flow. Choral colleagues don’t have many opportunities to network face to face, so give everyone a good excuse to get together. Bonus stars if you bring together a diverse group that includes community, professional, academic and school choir representatives.
4)Support other choirs in your area or bring together local choirs for an event. Even small cities can have a number of community choirs for singers of all ages and abilities. When choirs are doing well, the profile of choral singing in general is raised, and all choirs and the choral art benefit from this.
12
L
e Comité de promotion de la musique chorale canadienne que dirige Joel
Tranquilla au sein de Canada Choral a lancé un certain nombre de projets de
promotion au cours de la dernière année. Je suis très heureuse de poursuivre
ce travail avec les membres du comité : Heather Fraser (Nouvelle-Écosse), Joel
Tranquilla (Colombie-Britannique), Ki Adams (Terre-Neuve et Labrador), Meghan
Hila (Ontario) et Elizabeth Shannon (Ontario). Nous avons donné le coup d’envoi à
notre campagne de lettres au moment du déclenchement de l’élection fédérale.
D’autres ressources de promotion seront bientôt mises à votre disposition sur
le site Web de Canada Choral. Nous faisons désormais des démarches pour la
création d’un recensement national de la communauté chorale, et nous vous
ferons part d’autres initiatives en matière de promotion de la musique chorale, à
l’occasion de l’événement Podium 2016 à Edmonton.
Plus que jamais, la communauté de Canada Choral doit faire corps pour assurer
la promotion de la musique chorale canadienne, en célébrant la musique chorale
et en en faisant la promotion auprès de tous les Canadiens. Voici quelques démarches
faciles et importantes que vous pouvez faire dès maintenant pour aider à mieux
faire connaître la musique chorale canadienne.
Si vous ne faites pas la promotion de la musique chorale canadienne, qui le fera?
SIX CHOSES DE PLUS* QUE VOUS ET VOTRE CHŒUR POUVEZ FAIRE
1. Abonnez-vous à notre groupe de promotion de la musique chorale
canadienne sur Facebook. Vous pourrez discuter avec des collègues, assurer un mentorat auprès de jeunes artistes du monde choral, publier des questions
et partager des idées, des informations ou des données qui nous permettront de mieux défendre notre cause. En participant, vous devenez un maillon du Réseau de promotion de la musique chorale canadienne de Canada Choral.
2. Écrivez à vos politiciens locaux. Le Comité de promotion de la musique
chorale canadienne a préparé des modèles de lettres qui vous permettent d’écrire des messages personnalisés, de manière simple et rapide. Vous pouvez envoyer vos lettres par courriel ou les publier dans les médias sociaux. Vous pouvez obtenir ces modèles sur le site Web de Canada Choral, sur ses pages Facebook ou par l’intermédiaire de votre organisme choral provincial. Incitez vos collègues à écrire des lettres eux aussi!
3. Organisez une fête! Réunissez un réseau de collègues du monde choral au
tour d’une table bien remplie. Organisez un événement « vins et fromages »
décontracté, ou conviez les gens dans un restaurant où vous pourrez parler autour d’une table. L’inspiration, les échanges, la collaboration, le soutien et les idées de promotion vont assurément couler à flots! Comme vous, vos CHORAL CANADA
13
Choral Music
Schulich School of Music
Dr. Jean-Sébastien Vallée
Director of Choral Activities
Students
come from all
over the
world to study
with our
renowned
scholars and
experience
the vibrant
cultural life of
Montreal.
Application Deadline
December 1, 2015
5. Commission a choral work by a Canadian composer. Encourage our artists to continue writing and making their music available to choirs here and around the world.
6. Use hashtags #choralcanada #canadachoral #wearechoralcanada in your posts and tweets. Hashtags group these posts or tweets together, and make the topic searchable by others.
*Here are the first 5 things that you can do to be an advocate
for Canadian Choral Music, as outlined in Joel Tranquilla’s
article in the Fall 2013 edition of Anacrusis:
1. Become a member of your provincial choral organization.
2. Put the logo of your provincial choral organization and
Choral Canada in your concert programs and add those links to your website.
3. Collect Impact Statements from singers, audience
members and choir volunteers, that you can use to
promote the benefits of singing in a choir.
4. Develop an advocacy statement that lets others know what you stand for. Include the word “advocacy”,
recognizing that a lot of what you do already, is “advocacy”.
5. Look for new ways to be relevant and connect within
your community.
collègues au sein du monde choral ne jouissent pas de beaucoup d’occasions de réseautage en personne. Donnez donc à tout ce beau monde un bon prétexte
pour se réunir! Votre contribution sera d’autant plus remarquable si vous réunissez
un groupe diversifié incluant des chefs de file de votre communauté, des professionnels, des universitaires et des représentants de chœurs scolaires.
4. Soutenez les autres chœurs de votre région ou rassemblez-les autour d’un événement. Même les petites villes peuvent compter un certain nombre de chorales communautaires pour les chanteurs de tous les âges et de tous les niveaux. Lorsque les chorales se portent bien, l’ensemble du monde choral profite d’une meilleure visibilité, et tous les chœurs en profitent, ainsi que l’art choral en général.
5. Commandez une œuvre chorale auprès d’un compositeur canadien. Encouragez nos artistes à continuer à composer et à mettre leurs œuvres à la disposition des chœurs du Canada et du monde entier.
6. Utilisez les mots-clics #choralcanada, #canadachoral, #wearechoralcanada et #noussommescanadachoral dans vos publications et gazouillis. Les mots-clics rassemblent ces publications et ces gazouillis, permettant ainsi aux autres internautes d’y effectuer des recherches.
* Voici les cinq premières choses que vous pouvez faire pour être un promoteur
de la musique chorale canadienne, comme Joel Tranquilla l’indiquait dans un
article, dans le numéro d’Anacrusis de l’automne 2013 :
1. Adhérer à l’organisme choral provincial.
2. Inclure le logo de l’organisme choral provincial et du Canada Choral dans vos programmes de concert et ajouter leurs liens à votre site Web.
3. Recueillir les déclarations sur les impacts auprès des chanteurs, des membres de l’auditoire et des bénévoles.
4. Élaborer une declaration portant sur les activités de la promotion de la
musique chorale.
5. Trouver une nouvelle manière de demeurer pertinent au sein de votre collectivité.
Choral Conducting
M.Mus D.Mus
Voice Performance
B.Mus M.Mus D.Mus
Early Music
B.Mus M.Mus D.Mus
CHORAL CANADA
15
A UNIQUE WINDOW ON
CANADA’S CHORAL EVOLUTION
2015 National Competition
for Canadian Amateur Choirs
By Victoria Meredith
C
Dr. Victoria Meredith is Associate Dean
and Coordinator of Choral Activities at
Western University’s Don Wright Faculty
of Music and is a former President of
Choral Canada
anadian choral programming continues to expand while at the same time
preserving unique and valued traditions. The National Competition for Canadian
Amateur Choirs provides both a high-profile choral performing opportunity and
a glimpse at repertoire preferences and changes across the country. Following
each Choral Competition since 1998, I have enjoyed compiling a list of the repertoire
submitted by participating choirs and sharing it with Anacrusis readers. The initial
motivation for this project was to establish a resource that might be useful to
conductors in our never-ending search for interesting, high quality repertoire. It
also allows conductors to see some of the music being performed by our colleagues
with choirs similar to our own. The current listing of the 2015 National Competition
for Canadian Amateur Choirs marks the ninth such compilation.
Trends begin to emerge upon reviewing the past nine choral competitions. For
example, the number of choirs participating in the competitions has fluctuated
over the years as the competition has changed format and sponsorship. At its
largest, the 2008 competition attracted ninety-three choirs in fourteen categories.
This was the final year during which the competition was run by CBC Radio-Canada
and coordinated with a Podium convention. In 2010/2011, Choral Canada (known
at the time as the Association of Canadian Choral Communities) assumed
responsibility for the competition with support from the CBC and Canada Council.
Since then, it has been held on alternate years to the organization’s Podium
conventions. The 2015 competition marks the third time that Choral Canada
has run the event. This year’s competition attracted forty-five choirs in eleven
categories, compared to forty-one choirs in the 2013 competition. In each of
these years, twenty-three choirs advanced to the final level of competition.
A look at the repertoire itself over the years allows for some interesting observations.
The requirements of including at least one original Canadian composition and
one work in French have remained constant. Yet, the Canadian composers and
the French compositions submitted have begun to change, as have some of the
styles and composers for the remaining repertoire options as each choir submits
four, a cappella selections.
The Canadian composition requirement in previous competitions was often
dominated by the music of a few high profile Canadian composers. It was not
uncommon to find works by a single composer performed by numerous choirs
in several different categories. While well established composers such as Mark
Sirett, Stephen Hatfield, Eleanor Daley, R. Murray Shafer, Leonard Enns, Ramona
Luengen and Jeff Enns all have multiple representations in the 2015 competition,
none appears more than three times in the entire competition – far fewer than
some individual composers’ works were found in previous competitions. Another
difference this year is that alongside these icons of choral music, we find less
16
familiar names such as Marie-Claire Saindon, Robert Ingari, Don MacDonald,
Graeme Langager and Laura Silberberg appearing with equal or greater frequency.
In fact, forty-one different Canadian composers are represented in the sixty-six
Canadian works found in the 2015 competition. The single most frequently
performed composer this year is Robert Ingari with performances by five choirs,
while his name was found only once in previous competitions. All of this seems
to indicate that more Canadian composers are writing choral music and that their
work is being discovered and programmed by Canadian choral conductors as they
explore less familiar, high quality repertoire to balance much beloved traditional
choral works.
The selection of French repertoire also appears to be diversifying, with no single
work or composer heard a substantially more than all others this year. Robert
Ingari’s Soleils Couchants appears four times and Mark Sirett’s Ce Beau Printemps,
Marie-Claire Saindon’s Le train d’hiver was submitted by two choirs. Pierre
Passereau’s historically popular Il est bel et bon appears only twice in the entire
competition, compared to previous years in which it was found in nearly every
category. Again, conductors are seeking out exciting new or less familiar works
as they expand their borders of repertoire selection.
The open selection portion of the repertoire presented also shows signs of seeking
to include the best of both historic and recent choral compositions. In the 2000
competition, a large focus for many choirs was on the multicultural music that
was quickly gaining recognition. At this time, “world music” was considered
something of a novelty and “cutting edge” in style and was particularly popular
with children’s and youth choirs. Gradually, many of these compositions have
come to be accepted as part of the “core” repertoire and works by composers
from around the globe are readily considered for programming, while other
pieces popular a decade or so ago are
rarely heard today. Starting around
2010, considerably more historical/
classical repertoire began to find
its way back into the competition
with composers such as Palestrina,
Purcell, Debussy, Bruckner, Brahms,
Duruflé, and Bartok more frequently
presented. Repertoire seen in the
2015 competition continues to
display a freshness and balance as
conductors program traditional repertoire by historical master composers
alongside that of both well known and
emerging Canadian and non-Canadian
contemporary composers.
The National Competition for Canadian
Amateur Choirs offers choirs across
the country the opportunity to share
their best work with each other and
a national listening audience while
receiving feedback from a panel of
five highly respected choral experts.
It also provides an intriguing window
through which to view Canada’s
distinctive choral history and evolution.
Repertoire Performed in the 2015 National Competition for Canadian Amateur Choirs
* indicates Canadian Composer
CHILDREN’S CHOIRS
Anderson, W.H. *
Certon, Pierre Certon, Pierre/David Millard
Daley, Eleanor *
Daley, Eleanor *
Forbes, Guy
Hatfield, Stephen, arr. *
Hatfield, Stephen, arr. *
McGlynn, Michael
Quartel, Sarah *
Saindon, Marie-Claire *
Traditional/Donna Otto *
The Bird in the Nest
La la la, je ne l'ose
Je ne fuis jamais si aise
Rise Up My Love
O My Dear Heart
Ave Maria
African Celebration
Las Amarillas
Jerusalem
Songbird
Le Train d'hiver
Prayer Song/Beauty of the Trees
3:10
1:13
0:54
1:51
2:29
3:24
8:12
2:35
7:02
3:20
2:31
4:07
To be sung on the Water, op. 42, no. 2
Les angélus
Kyrie, Sanctus, Agnus Dei, Missa Brevis O Sleep, Fond Fancy
3:20
2:32
5:28
1:30
YOUTH CHOIRS, UPPER VOICES
Barber, Samuel Debussy, Claude/Clytus Gottward
Luengen, Luengen *
Morley, Thomas, arr. Leland Forsbald
FEATURE ARTICLES / ARTICLES PRÉSENTÉS
17
Saindon, Marie Claire *
Schafer, R. Murray *
Schuman, Robert Telfer, Nancy *
Le train d’hiver
Snowforms
Der Wassermann, Romanzen, op.91 no.3
Gloria, Missa Brevis
2:30
7:26
2:18
2:55
Ave Maria
Seigneur, je vous en prie
Ne Sedi, Djemo
Jing-ga-lye-ye
3:36
2:22
1:28
2:03
Flanders Fields
Je ne l’ose dire
Salve Regina
Voici Mon Secret
Trois Chansons
Prometheus
Ubi caritas
The Lamb
The Battle of Jericho
Elijah Rock
Elijah Rock
Soleils Couchants
Soleils Couchants
Winter Sun
Minoi Minoi
Lamento d’Arianna
Herr Ich Habe Lieb
Il est bel et bon
Non Nobis Domine
Nyon Nyon
Les fleurs et les arbres
Nouse Lauluni (Rise My Song)
Benediction
Ilus Ta Ei Ole
Ilus ta ei ole
Lux Arumque
Lux Arumque
Rise up, my love, my fair one
3:39
1:04
5:02
2:18
2:45
2:50
3:20
2:16
2:16
3:10
3:50
1:59
1:48
3:04
1:37
2:09
2:21
1:03
3:37
2:16
2:08
2:59
4:06
4:26
3:52
3:57
3:08
2:02
YOUTH CHOIRS, LOWER VOICES
Bruckner, Anton
Poulenc, Francis Sametz, Steven Sled, Bruce *
Youth Choirs, Mixed Voices
Aitken, Paul A. *
Certon, Pierre Childs, David N. Chung, George *
Debussy, Claude Fulton, Kristopher *
Gjeilo, Ola
Hatch, Winnagene *
Hogan, Moses, arr.
Hogan, Moses, arr.
Hogan, Moses, arr. Ingari, Robert *
Ingari, Robert *
MacDonald, Don *
Marshall, Christopher, arr.
Monteverdi, Claudio
Nicolai, Otto
Passereau, Pierre, ed. Grayson
Powell, Rosephanye Runestad, Jake
Saint-Saëns, Camille
Sariola, Soila Skinner, Kathleen *
Uusberg, Pärt Uusberg, Pärt Whitacre, Eric Whitacre, Eric Willan, Healey *
Collegiate Choirs, Mixed Voices
Barber, David *
Coker, Steve, arr. Debussy, Claude Emery, Matthew *
Enns, Jeff *
Erb, James, arr. Finzi, Gerald Guillaume, Sydney 18
Music for a While
Lassie would ye love me
Dieu! Qu’il la fait bon regarder
Sweetest Love
Life
Shenandoah
My Spirit Sang All Day
Twa Tantou
1:38
3:19
2:11
4:12
2:35
3:45
1:54
4:01
Hogan, Moses, arr.
Ingari, Robert *
Leslie, Henry Luengen, Ramona *
Nees, Vic O’Regan, Tarik
Powell, Rosephanye, arr.
Ravel, Maurice
Schafer, R. Murray *
Sermisy, Claude de Sirett, Mark *
Smallman, Jeff *
Squatrito, Fred, arr.
Victoria, Tomas Luis de Vittoria, Tomas Luis de Didn’t my Lord deliver Daniel
Soleils Couchants
Charm Me Asleep
Mésange
Credo
Threshold of Night
Wade in the Water
Nicolette
Calme des nuits
Rain Chant
Au joli bois
Veni Sancte Spiritus
Brier
Bright Morning Star
Calgaverunt oculi mei
Asperges Me
3:08
1:59
2:55
3:15
4:46
5:47
4:56
2:01
3:52
4:35
1:58
3:17
2:43
3:10
4:05
2:57
Allon, gay bergères
Ubi Caritas
The Heart’s Reflection I Carry Your Heart
Battle of Jericho
Chanson d’automne
Kacena Divoka
Agneau de Dieu
There Is No Rose
Richte mich, Gott
Ecco Mormorar L’Onde
Now is the Month of Maying
O Crux
Exultate Deo
Vzbrannoy Voyevode
A Choral Fanfare
Ce beau printemps
Ce Beau Printemps
Psaume 98
Exultate Justi
1:40
2:36
6:04
3:25
2:00
1:55
2:57
4:38
4:30
3:57
2:37
1:52
5:50
2:42
1:17
2:05
3:05
2:48
2:51
1:50
ADULT CHOIRS, MIXED VOICES
Costeley, Guillaume
Duruflé, Maurice
Elder, Daniel Enns, Jeff *
Hogan, Moses, arr.
Ingari, Robert *
Janáček, Leoš Lang, Rupert *
Memley, Kevin Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Felix
Monteverdi, Claudio
Morley, Thomas
Nystedt, Knut
Poulenc, Francis
Rachmaninoff, Sergei
Rutter, John
Sirett, Mark *
Sirett, Mark *
Togni, Peter *
Viadana, Ludo vico da ADULT CHAMBER CHOIRS, MIXED VOICES
Adams, Jonathan
This Still Room
Bernet, John
All Creatures Now
Bruckner, Anton
Os Justi
Daunais, Lionel *
Le Pont Mirabeau
Elder, Daniel
The Heart’s Reflection
Gibbons, Orlando
Drop Slow Tears
Gyongyosi, Levente
Te lucis ante terminum
Ingari, Robert *
Soleils Couchants, Deux Poemes
Jenkins, Karl
Exsultate Jubilate
Langager, Graeme *
I Will Lift Mine Eyes
Lévesque, Raymond * arr. Marie Bernard Quand les hommes virront d’amour
2:56
2:00
4:52
2:47
5:55
1:45
2:43
2:05
4:32
5:14
4:10
19
MacDonald, Don *
MacDonald, Don *
MacGillivray, Allister *
arr. Jennifer McMillan
McGlynn, Michael
Poulenc, Francis
Rheinberger, Josef
Runestad, Jake Schafer, R. Murray *
Silberberg, Laura *
Tabula Rasa
Tabula Rasa
3:55
3:35
Away from the Roll of the Sea
Incantations
Un soir de neige
Abendlied
Alleluia
Second Hymn from Fall Into Light
La Jeune Fille
3:39
1:27
6:10
3:05
3:05
2:10
4:02
The Souls of the Righteous
Skidgate Love Song
Mary Had a Baby
Blanche comme la neige
121 Psalm
Daemon Irrepit Callidus
Sérénade d’hiver
Die Nacht
Traumlicht
I Am Not Gone
The Winter is gone
Duo Seraphim
3:51
2:20
2:18
6:18
3:47
1:26
5:20
2:33
4:56
6:18
2:11
3:27
MEN’S CHOIRS, EQUAL VOICES
Bevan, Allan *
Chatman, Stephen *
Coghlan, Michael *
Gibbon, J. Murray, arr. Ernest MacMillan
Milhaud, Darius Orbán, György
Schubert, Franz Strauss, Richard Taylor, Colin *
Vaughan Williams, Ralph
Vittoria, Tomas Luis de CONTEMPORARY MUSIC
Emery, Matthew *
Enns, Jeff *
Enns, Leonard *
Gjeilo, Ola
Habibi, Iman *
Hamel, Keith *
King, Robin *
Langager, Graeme *
Miškinis, Vytavtas
Murray, Patrick *
Nobles, Jordan *
Runestad, Jake
Runestad, Jake
Silberberg, Laura *
Stokes, Tobin *
Ströder, Friedbert
SCT
Tour Management
When the Sun comes after rain
Hear My Prayer
As on Wings
Northern Lights
Black Riders
Lullaby
Exultate Deo
Gaudium vestrum sit plenum
Salve Regina
Autumn
Lux Antiqua
Why the Cages Bird Sings
Allelulia
Fire & Ice Gloria
Pater Noster
3:03
2:49
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WOMEN’S CHOIRS, EQUAL VOICES
Baryluk, Kim * Daley, Eleanor *
Enns, Leonard *
Gawthrop, Daniel
Girvan, Allison, arr. *
Hatfield, Stephen *
Mantyjarvi, Jaakko
Passereau, Pierre Rheinberger, Josef
Sperry, Ethan, arr.
Thomas, Karen
Virkkala, Tellu, arr.
Warrior
In Remembrance
Deep Peace
Mary Speaks
V’la l’bon vent
J’ai vu le loup
Akari (Light)
Il est bel et bon
Marchenzauber
Wedding Qawwali
O Lucidissima
Tuulet
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PAN-CULTURAL TRADITIONS
David, John, arr. Peter Knight
Hurko, Roman *
Ippolitov-Ivanov, Mikhail
Zosin, M
20
You are the New Day
Plottiu (In the Flesh)
Come Bless the Lord
Dnes ‘Khrystos Rozhdayetsya
3:04
2:39
3:45
5:28
21
R. MURRAY SCHAFER APOCALYPSIS:
Toronto Choral Event of the Century
By Marta McCarthy
A
riddle: What do you get when you take 20 conductors, 24 choirs representing
all ages, several troupes of dancers, a string orchestra, a wind orchestra, theatrical
speakers, an Inuit Throat Singer, invented instruments, an organ and a vast array
of percussion? And put them on one of Canada’s most prominent stages for a
triple-run? What happens when the world comes to an end, but we not only live
to see another day, we thrive and are better for it? APOCALYPSIS!
Marta McCarthy is an Associate Professor
at University of Guelph, where she
conducts 4 choirs and teaches pedagogy
and musicianship. She was conductor of
the 2014 Ontario Youth Choir and has been
recipient of the Elmer Iseler Conducting
Fellowship, the Women of Distinction
Award, and an Ontario Service Award. She
is a member of the June Callwood Circle
of Caring and is President of Choral Canada
2014-16.
Due to its complexity, Apocalypsis by R. Murray Schafer has only been performed
once in its entirety. The city of London, Ontario, mounted a production in 1980 to
celebrate London’s 125th anniversary. At that time, William Littler called it “one
of the most spectacular events in the history of the world.” Since then, the second
half, Credo, has been performed by Soundstreams’ University Voices (2000), and
most recently in New York City in 2013.
Thanks to Toronto’s Luminato Festival, audiences witnessed a full-scale production
of Apocalypsis, June 26th – 28th, 2015, at the Sony Centre in downtown Toronto.
The first half of the piece, John’s Vision, sets texts from the book of Revelation
and Psalm 148, which describe in vivid detail the end of the world as we know it.
Like many of Schafer’s works, the piece is ritualistic rather than storytelling, inviting
the audience to experience, with the performers, the destruction and recreation
of the world. The second half, Credo, employs a dozen SATB choirs, a string
orchestra and 13 conductors, to weave an impressive tapestry of contemplations
by 16th Century Italian philosopher, mathematician and cosmologist, Giordano
Bruno. The number twelve infuses the Credo as a key symbol: 12 choirs composed
(ideally) of a multiple of 12 singers, and 12 string quartets perform Bruno’s 12
sayings. The text is a meditation on the infinite nature of the universe.
To prepare, coordinate, motivate, and direct such a mammoth troupe of performers
requires the likes of conductor David Fallis, (perhaps best known as conductor of
Opera Atelier and as Artistic Director of the Toronto Consort). With his consistent
grace, generosity, and good humour, David helped every performer to grasp the
shape and direction of Schafer’s vision. His intricate knowledge of the score
combined with his extensive experience revealed the overarching scale of the
music and the drama, bringing order and understanding to the rehearsals, while
allowing enough freedom to capture the sense of theatrical spontaneity that
brought each performance to life.
relevance in the words of the speaker who opened the show; by describing her
dramatic escape from captivity as a child soldier (after losing her lower arm to a
machete), her tragic life on the streets, and her eventual escape to the freedom
and educational opportunities in Canada, she provided a harrowingly real and
meaningful context for all that followed. Still others commented on the visceral
impact of the crowd scenes and the symbolism of the cleansing ritual performed
when the staging parted to reveal a veritable stream of water. To accomplish
all of this while ensuring that the singers and players could always see the
conductor required a great deal of planning and creativity. Fallis conducted the
first half from the stage, but came to the balcony during a protracted drone to
conduct the twelve choirs and string orchestra performing Credo (the second half).
To accommodate the large number of performers, the stage at the Sony Centre
was extended into the audience; additionally, an outcrop was built onto the back
balcony from whence the Hamilton Children’s Choir provided angelic commentary
on the action on stage. This spatial separation was particularly effective.
The performance of Apocalypsis on Sunday, June 28, was broadcast live by CBC
Radio 2, hosted by Tom Allen. You can hear it on cbcmusic.ca and even see a
copy of David’s score. As Schafer fans will know, the score includes the elegant
graphics for which Schafer is renowned, but the second half, Credo, employs
traditional notation and is, in fact, precisely timed to coordinate with an electronic
tape. Therefore, a stopwatch becomes the conductor’s friend – not followed slavishly
but needed to keep all things generally in sync. The twelve conductors of Credo
kept one eye on Fallis in order to follow him and the other on their choirs, to
provide the shaping of their individual parts and to aide in the rhythmic complexities,
especially where different metres were simultaneously combined.
Hailed as “an unprecedented feast for the eyes, the ears and the soul”, this
production featured renowned performers, such as Tanya Tagaq, Nina Arsenault,
Brent Carver, Denise Fujiwara and the voice of Laurie Anderson. But in many
ways, the real “stars” were the 1,000 amateur choristers who filled the hall with
Schafer’s intricate “empire of sound”. The participating choirs included:
Bell’Arte Singers
Cantabile Chamber Singers
Cantores Celestes Women’s Choir
Choir 21
City Choir
DaCapo Chamber Choir
Element Choir
First Unitarian Congregation of Toronto Choir
Guelph Chamber Choir
Hamilton Children’s Choir
Oakham House Choir of Ryerson University
Ontario Youth Choir Alumni
Orpheus Choir of Toronto
Ottawa Bach Choir
Grand Philharmonic Chamber Choir
Seraphim Men’s Choir
Singing Out
St. James Cathedral Choir
Toronto Mendelssohn Choir (2 parts)
Univox Choir Toronto
Exultate Chamber Singers
Grand Philharmonic Chamber Singers
Pax Christi Chorale
Tallis Choir of Toronto
The Element Choir
Guelph Chamber Choir
Toronto Chamber Choir
And David Fallis, whose kindness was
matched by his clarity and musical
genius, deserves the longest ovation
for his two years of preparation and
his masterful leadership. Maestro
Fallis has led Opera Atelier to the
Royal Opera House at Versailles, to
Seoul, South Korea (with the Korean
Symphony Orchestra and Camerata
Antiqua Seoul), to the most prestigious
opera companies in the United States,
and to Japan, among many others.
Well schooled in Schafer’s idioms,
Fallis was Music Director for the world
premiere of The Children’s Crusade
produced by Soundstreams, in
collaboration with the Toronto Consort,
at the 2009 Luminato Festival. A highly
versatile musician, he specializes in
Early Music with the Toronto Consort,
while also leading Choir 21, a vocal
ensemble specializing in choral and
vocal music by living composers. Choir
21 has performed for Soundstreams,
The Art of Time Ensemble, and
Continuum, in works by Jonathon
Harvey, R. Murray Schafer, Christopher
Butterfield, Gilles Tremblay and Marlos
Nobre. No stranger to the festival
scene, Fallis was co-artistic director
of Toronto’s Metamorphosis Festival,
an innovative and multi-cultural
three-month-long festival of music,
opera, dance, film, theatre and design.
Theatre director and choreographer Lemi Ponifasio, who hails from Samoa and is
based in New Zealand, staged the score with some eloquent effects and powerful
embodiment; for example, many people were captivated by the dancer in a
transparent cube, who unwound her body so slowly that you could barely see
the movement but you intuited the sense of growth. Others found immediate
22
23
REPORT: Canadian Music Educator’s
Association National Conference
“Connecting the Community”
MASCULINITY AND ADOLESCENT
MALE PARTICIPATION IN CHOIRS
By Tyler Turner
July 9-11, 2015, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
By Dominic Gregorio
T
Dominic Gregorio is Director of Choral
Activities and Assistant Professor of
Choral Music at the University of Regina.
He graduated with the Doctor of Musical
Arts Degree in Conducting, Music Education
and Voice from the University of Southern
California in Los Angeles in 2012 and was
awarded the USC Order of Areté Medal,
the highest honour accorded graduate
students upon graduation.
This spring Dominic was awarded the
University of Regina New Faculty Teaching
Award of Recognition.
his past July, the Canadian Music Educator’s Association successfully hosted
their first national conference in over 20 years in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The conference
was aptly named “Connecting the Community,” featuring clinicians from Canada
and the United States. Ki Adams worked with the CMEA to program the choral
sessions for the conference. I gave sessions on the psychology of rehearsal
technique and constructivist rehearsal strategies, Julia Davids presented wonderfully
informative sessions on vocal technique, warm-ups, vocal health and taking
music to the next level. Zimfira Poloz gave a fascinating session bridging sound
concepts and education pedagogy she was raised in in Eastern Europe to North
America, and a session on young singers, the importance of ear training, and
finding joy. Adam Con gave illuminating sessions based on his research expertise
in conducting gesture from the Rodney Eichenberger school of “What they see
is what you get.” Scott Leithead, not only gave sessions on world music and
building and creating community and fostering the next generation of choral
singers, but also brought his Kokopelli Choir on tour from Edmonton, stopping in
four cities along the way. The conference was light on choral performances, but
Kokopelli more than made up for it with a rousing and uplifting final conference
performance. Susan Aglukark was the keynote speaker, presenting the story and
challenges of her life and community through powerful words juxtaposed with
moving performances of her well-loved songs; an important message for all of
us who teach on Treaty lands.
Overall, the conference was a great success. It was a joy to meet so many music
teachers from across Canada and to have the band, choir, orchestra, elementary,
high school and University teachers all in one space together. A huge congratulations
to the conference co-chairs Tanya Derksen and Regan Livingstone and the entire
conference committee. I know it is a shared sentiment from all who were present
that CMEA continue this national conference; it is very much needed and valued!
Choral Canada representing at the Canadian Music Educator’s Association National Conference: Dominic Gregorio, Scott Leithead,
Julia Davids, Zimfira Poloz, Robert Neufeld, and Adam Con.
24
M
any choral music education programs struggle to retain male singers from
middle through high school. While much academic research exists on this topic,
little concerns how masculinity might influence a male’s decision to continue
singing in a choir. I hypothesize that conforming to perceived masculinity standards
results in boys leaving choral music education programs in middle and high school.
Tyler Turner is a music educator and choral
conductor in the greater-Boston area. He
has held positions with public school music
programs, the Boston Children’s Chorus, and
the Metropolitan Opera outreach program.
Under his direction, student ensembles have
performed at Mechanics Hall, Jordan Hall,
and Symphony Hall in Boston as well as
Carnegie Hall in New York City. His student
ensembles regularly receive superior
ratings at choral festivals, collaborate with
nationally recognized choral ensembles and
conductors, complete recording projects, as
well as tour domestically or internationally
each year. As a conductor, Turner has
conducted choral and orchestral ensembles
throughout the United States, in Canada,
and in Europe. He holds degrees in music
and educational studies from Rhodes
College and Harvard University, and he
is currently pursuing his DMA at Boston
University.
For this hypothesis to be true, I assume that choral singing can be perceived as a
non-masculine activity within some communities. I also assume that boys desire
to conform to perceived standards of masculinity and that this desire is particularly
strong in the adolescent period of development. Finally, I assume that boys quit
singing in choirs because they fear being perceived as non-masculine.
The second assumption is supported by existing literature on adolescent gender
identity. Egan and Perry (2001) find that boys specifically place more pressure
on themselves to conform to expected gender roles than girls. Similarly, Hill and
Lynch’s theory of gender intensification (1983) asserts that adolescent students
feel increased pressure to conform to culturally dominant gender roles. Their
hypothesis is supported by a longitudinal study (Galambos, Almeida, and Peterson,
1990) which found that males specifically showed an increase in masculine sex
differences and sex role attitudes between the ages of 11-13.
Harder to prove is the first assumption: That choral singing can be perceived as a
non-masculine activity in some communities. It is important to note that concepts
of masculinity are fluid and differ between communities. Yet, one salient concept
of masculinity that transcends this diversity is the concept of power. In R. W.
Connell’s 2005 book Masculinities, Connell asserts that “Masculinity is shaped in
relation to an overall structure of power (the subordination of women to men)”
(223). To make this point clearer, Connell uses the American fascination with sport
as an exemplar: “The institutional organization of sport embeds definite social relations:
competition and hierarchy among men, exclusion or domination of women” (54).
I assert that our cultural hierarchy which places masculine qualities in dominance
to feminine qualities significantly contributes to men leaving choral music programs during adolescence. Specifically in mixed choral programs, masculine
dominance is not present. Choral music educators use terms like “balance”,
“blend”, and “unity” to describe the performance of mixed voice repertoire. This
places men as equals to women rather than in dominant roles over them. As
Connell observes, this is in direct opposition to the culturally dominant perception, attitudes, and actions of our culture. Thus, participating in a mixed choir is
essentially a non-masculine activity as it strips away the dominance that adolescent males seek as they navigate the natural gender intensification that occurs
during this time period.
25
Considering masculinity as a factor in choral singing has several implications for
choral music programs that serve adolescent singers. Related to the concept
Connell forwards of masculine dominance is the concept of visible success. In
Possible Selves: Theory, Research, and Applications, Knox (2006) forwards that
boys seek experiences where they can be visibly successful. Thus, adolescent
choral music programs need to make their male participants feel extremely
successful to play into boys’ desire to align with masculine traits. Most importantly,
they need teachers who know how to work with the changing male voice in a
positive way. If adolescent male students feel unsuccessful in their ability to sing
with a changing voice, they will associate this failure with a failure to forward
masculine character traits. This theory supports the success many choral music
educators see with split gender instruction at the adolescent level. When
adolescent boys are given their own choral music class or ensemble, the desire
to create a hierarchy of power over women is removed and––with a good teacher
of the changing male voice––adolescent male students are able to feel successful
in their singing voice.
In my own teaching, I hear the members of my men’s choir sing for about 5-10
minutes each twice a year. I use these informal “check ins” to hear a student’s
range and give them some basic, but individualized, feedback on their singing.
I also take time during rehearsals with my men’s ensemble to teach about the
voice in a more academic manner using diagrams, videos, recordings, and my
own modeling. These techniques frame men’s singing as a learning experience,
and––along with having a separate men’s ensemble––they have helped to grow
my program substantially.
A separate men’s vocal ensemble can be easily created by separating an existing
choir by gender or advertising a separate ensemble within your school. Substantial
challenges to overcome include repertoire selection, scheduling, and lack of
interest within the student body. Although much of the known repertoire for
men’s choir is voiced TTBB, there is much accessible repertoire available in TB
and 3-part men’s voicing to make starting a group feasible. However, it does take
substantial time to research and find the right pieces for each unique male ensemble.
If your community cannot commit time to a separate rehearsal or class, allow
more sectional time in your mixed rehearsals for the men to work on men’s choir
literature. If you can create a new group, respond to your school’s interests to
garner the most participation. Although you may want a formal men’s choir, a
more popular style ensemble (like a cappella or barbershop) may be the best way
to gain initial interest and invest in your program. It is also important to expose
these groups to other male ensembles. Consider sending your students to men’s
choral festivals, inviting accomplished men’s groups to perform for your school,
traveling to do an exchange with a similar ensemble in another community, and/or
creating substantial connections between the middle grade music programs and
the upper grade programs in your community.
As food for further thought, it must be recognized that this struggle is not new to
choral music education. In 1941, Viggiano published this article in Music Educators
Journal: “Reaching the Adolescent Who Thinks It’s Sissy to Sing.” We will likely
always struggle to retain adolescent male singers in choral programs; however,
equipped with the existing research on gender identity, educators can develop
programs that play into male adolescents’ need to gender intensify as a means
to retain them though adolescence and into young adulthood.
26
FINDING THE COMMON GROUND
BETWEEN CHORAL CONDUCTORS
AND VOCAL PEDAGOGUES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Egan, S.K., Perry, D.G., 2001. Gender identity:
a multidimensional analysis with implications
for psychosocial adjustment. Dev. Psychol. 37, 451–463.
Galambos, N., Almeida, D., Petersen, A., 1990. Masculinity, femininity and sex role attitudes in early adolescence: exploring gender
intensification. Child Dev. 61, 1905–1914.
By Lesley Leighton
Hill, J.P., Lynch, M.E., 1983. The intensification of gender-related role expectations
during early adolescence. In: Brooks-Gunn, J., Petersen, A. (Eds.), Girls at Puberty:
Biological and Psychosocial Perspectives. Plenum, New York, pp. 201–228.
W
Knox, M. 2006. Gender and possible selves. In J. Kerpelman & C. Dunkel (Eds.), Possible
selves: Theory, research and applications (pp. 61-77). Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science
Publishers.
Viggiano, F. A. 1941. Reaching the adolescent who thinks it’s sissy to sing. Music Educators
Journal, 27(5), 62-63.
A native of Los Angeles, Leighton studied
conducting with Paul Salamunovich at
Loyola Marymount University, where she
earned her BA in choral music. Following
choral study at UCLA with Bill Hatcher,
she later obtained an MM in vocal
performance with Judith Oas Natalucci,
and a DMA in choral music from the
University of Southern California.
Leighton was named the first associate
conductor in the history of Los Angeles
Master Chorale in July 2011 following
a year as assistant conductor. She
was appointed artistic director of Los
Robles Master Chorale in 2008, and
music director of New West Symphony
Chorus in 2009. She served as interim
director of choral activities at La Sierra
University during the 2013-14 academic
year, teaching two choirs and conducting,
and as Director of Choruses at UCLA
from 2014-15, where she will continue
through 2015-16. In July 2015 she
prepared the Los Angeles Master Chorale
for Carmina Burana,and A Midsummer
Night’s Dream for Gustavo Dudamel and
the LA Phil for the Hollywood Bowl, and
in August La Traviata for guest conductor
Diego Matheuz. She will conduct the LA
Master Chorale this upcoming season in
Steven Stuckey’s Three Motets, Shawn
Kirchner’s Memorare, and the LAMC
Chamber Singers in concert in April 2016.
ho hasn’t heard about the voice teacher who forbids his or her student
from singing in chorus because he or she believes it will harm the student’s vocal
training, or the choral conductor who doesn’t want to let the tenor with the massive
solo voice into the chorus, for fear that the balance and blend of the chorus will
be ruined? Every day at some institution, somewhere in the world, this kind of
erroneous thinking places vocal/choral students in awkward and uncomfortable
positions, as they try to negotiate their way between their voice faculty and the
conductors for whom they wish to sing. Fortunately, in the institution where I
teach (UCLA), there is a good relationship between the voice and choral programs;
but this is not so at all universities and conservatories. Even in non-academic
settings, voice teachers complain about their students singing in choirs, while
conductors moan that they can’t control soloistic voices in their sections. Yet the
modern singer/conductor, in order to make a living in music, needs to have both
solo and ensemble skill sets, and we teachers do a disservice to them if we insist
that they choose exclusively one or the other.
It is not enough in 2015 to teach vocal technique, diction, repertoire, and history,
while neglecting to teach business and professional skills, ensemble skills (or
vice versa in the case of choral majors). How many solo singers realistically will
win a young artist position in an opera company after they finish their BM/MM
in vocal performance, and how many choral majors will be able to pay their bills
singing in a chorus or with part-time conducting gigs? The statistically realistic
answer is very few.
The countless applications for administrative positions in the professional
music business from people with an MM or BM in vocal performance or choral
music/conducting attests to the fact that these graduates can’t find enough work
as singers, whether choral or solo, or as choral conductors to survive, so they
supplement their incomes with part-time administrative work. Often it isn’t until
they graduate from their university programs, school of music, or conservatory
that they discover that there are thousands of other people who also just graduated
with the same degree from another respected institution, and they are all vying
for the same 25 jobs nationally.
In today’s music world, the number of young artist programs is diminishing not
increasing; it is becoming commonplace for soloists to use an opera chorus or
professional chorus as a launching pad, and for aspiring choral conductors or singers
to have several jobs singing with maybe one conducting gig– more’s the pity if
the soloists have no ensemble skills and the ensemble singer/conductor has no
solo skills! The mindset of choral conductors not understanding solo voices or
solo vocal technique, and of voice teachers refusing to teach choral majors or
preventing their voice majors from singing in chorus is very last century. If vocal
27
and choral programs are going to be relevant in the 21st century, then it is absolutely
mandatory that there be open communication and transparency between the
two programs, their instructors, and students – this is for the good of the kids
and for the future of opera companies and choruses everywhere! The same
goes for community, private or professional programs, conductors, and teachers;
a single skill set isn’t enough to land you a job anymore, much less make you
interesting for the larger jobs when they are available.
In the professional choral ranks, the primary vocal flaw that cuts an applicant
loose is poor intonation, followed by uncontrolled vibrato – this usually eliminates
almost half of the applicants in an audition phase. After a careful resume review,
the lack of ensemble experience, at least in college, eliminates more candidates.
Of the ones who are invited to audition live at the first tier, many are eliminated
because they cannot sightread, or have no idea what the correct performance
practice is for a particular epoch, or they sound nothing like they did on their
recording. The 20 or so singers who make it past the first tier (from approximately
190 applications) of live auditions, sing for the artistic director, who listens for
intonation, language, performance practice interpretation, and finally puts the
singer in a quartet of singers, which then reads several pieces of music in a range
of styles. Of the 20 who make it to the second tier of live auditions, depending
upon the openings in a particular group in a particular year, 2-4 might be offered
a position with that chorus, from a pool of almost 200 singers. And honestly, the
statistics are even grimmer if you are a soprano or a baritone – it’s very competitive.
If it’s an opera chorus audition, they will scrutinize your intonation, diction, knowledge
of the performance practice of your chosen repertoire, and your musicality; and
then they check your resume to see if you have any ensemble experience,
because after all, it’s a chorus. If you have none, chances are they will move on
to the next singer because the hallway outside is lined with singers dressed to the
nines, all of whom possess a BM, MM, and sometimes a DMA in vocal performance.
It’s pretty clear that singers need a lot of skills to make it, but how do we establish
the common ground between solo and choral singing so that singers can easily
flow between the two types of singing?
It really comes down to common sense: we all want healthy vocal technique
that sounds free, balanced, and in tune, with an even quality from bottom to top;
polished language and diction skills; sight-reading and musicianship; ensemble
experience (even as a soloist, you will sing in a quintet or quartet at some point in
opera or concert); beautiful sound; flexibility; and control over the instrument.
28
It’s actually this last point that is at
the crux of so-called “choral vs. solo
technique.” The truth is simple, choral
or solo: an outstanding singer should
have control over his or her vibrato
rate, pitch frequency, volume, air
compression, breath flow, resonance
through phonation and timbre, mouth
shape, posture, diaphragm, and should
possess an understanding of the vocal
anatomy – it doesn’t matter if you are
preparing to sing the Brahms Requiem
as the soprano soloist, or as a soprano
in the section, these skills are required
in a professional setting.
accommodate the circumstance in which one is singing. It is muscular and
mechanical control that is learned and used as a voice major that gives flexibility
as a solo or choral singer, longevity as a singer, and the knowledge one needs to
stand on a podium and confidently explain what has to happen technically for a
choral section, or model for singers what it is that you want to hear as a conductor.
The difference in the two types of
singing is a matter of degrees and
coordination. As a soloist, a singer
fully trained in a bel canto technique
focuses on understanding the
mechanics of singing, and the ability
to control which parts move, when,
and how much, to achieve the balance
of voice that is required at any given
time, to sing with beauty and line; as
a choral singer, it is exactly the same
technique – but the balance of the
mechanics changes slightly. Perhaps
one needs less subglottal pressure,
less volume, a little different balance
in resonance chambers, and suddenly
the tone quality can blend with those
nearby with no sacrifice to the vocal
technique, because the basic vocal
technique stays the same, solo or choral.
What changes is the coordination of
the vocal anatomy and mechanics,
resonance, and vocal folds to
The common ground between the voice studio and the choral rehearsal room is
found in the collaborative creation of healthy techniques, and through encouraging
singing that is flexible, beautiful, in tune, and able to blend with other voices in a
chorus but also step forward as a soloist. A choral singer or conductor needs to
have a solo vocal technique and knowledge, just as a soloist needs to have
ensemble experience and a choral technique (a slight adjustment of their solo
technique). There is no need for choral singers and soloists to be exclusionary;
they can happily work together, which leads to impressively trained and employable
performers who can sing in a professional opera house, in a professional concert
chorus, sing solo concert work, sing for films in a studio, or wind up conducting
any or all of these choirs: as long as the people in the leadership and teaching
positions who are training the next generation of singers have an awareness
of the importance of possessing the skill sets and the flexibility that today’s
performer needs to succeed as a professional musician.
Voice teachers should understand not only the technique that they are teaching,
but also choral methods, and at least be familiar with conducting technique; choral
conductors need to have studied voice, diction, and vocal anatomy, along with
choral podium technique, repertoire and methods before taking on a choir. If the
choral and vocal areas understand what the other is about, there can be meaningful
conversation. Choral music and vocal performance are not stand alone art forms,
but involve collaboration between singers, instrumentalists, and conductors –
they are intertwined, and in the best of all possible worlds should be seen as
connected instead of separate!
I believe that we all want the best for our students and protégées, and that’s
at the heart of how we find our common ground: we put the needs of our
students before all else– it’s not always the easiest of things to do, but is there
anything more satisfying as a teacher/mentor then the success of a student?
29
Co-creating Significance:
Life-long Choristers Speak Out on
Conductors and the Choral Experience
By Caron Daley
I
n the past few years, I have had the great privilege of working with a number of
life-long choristers. I define “life-long choristers” as those who have continuously
participated in choral singing since their youth, and are actively seeking to improve
their skills, study new repertoire, or perform with a given ensemble/conductor.
Nova Scotia-born music educator Caron
Daley is equally comfortable on the podium
as in the voice studio. With over a decade
of professional experience as a choral/
orchestral conductor, soprano, classroom
educator, and Dalcroze Eurhythmics
specialist, Caron brings a diversity of
musical expertise to her work.
Caron is the Artistic Director of the
Mississauga Children’s Choir and the
Associate Conductor of the Toronto
Mendelssohn Choir. She also instructs
courses in Music Education at the Ontario
Institute for Studies in Education at the
University of Toronto, and has held past
teaching appointments at Trinity Western
University, Dalhousie University, St. Michael’s
Choir School, and Salem Academy and
College. In 2012, Caron founded the Halifax
Summer Choral Conducting Symposium,
a program designed to support choral
conductor education in the Maritimes:
www.halifaxsummerchoral.com.
Caron holds a D.M.A. in Choral Conducting
from the University of Toronto and prior
degrees in choral conducting, vocal
pedagogy and music education. Her
research explores models for conductor
education and choral pedagogy that are
rooted in embodied teaching/learning.
Caron is the Vice-President of Dalcroze
Canada and sits on the boards of the
Association of Canadian Choral Communities’
biennial conference, Podium 2014, and
the Teacher Education Advisory Committee
for the Toronto District School Board.
30
Barry and Bill, septuagenarians, both recall singing from age 10. Barry is currently
the longest standing member of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, having recently
completed his fortieth season with the organization. Bill, a Halifax-based chorister,
can’t remember a time when he wasn’t singing, recounting a variety of school,
church, and community choral experiences. Singing is an integral part of his
everyday activities; something he suggests is both natural and universal:
One of the places my brain just goes is to music. There’s always a
soundtrack running somewhere in my brain. It’s like tinnitus… I’m sure
human beings make these sounds because they’re good for us, and it
helps us express something, or it fulfills a really basic need that we have.
As a conductor, life-long choristers have both inspired and intimidated me. What
creates a life-long love for the choral art? What types of relationship between
choristers and conductors promotes choral excellence, in its various facets?
Do life-long choristers deem specific conductor behaviours to be particularly
encouraging, or discouraging, to the choral experience? What distinguishes a
significant choral experience from a mediocre one, and how can conductors
inspire a musical culture of significance?
As Barry and Bill describe their early and ongoing involvements in choral music,
similar themes emerge. The combined efforts of the conductor, the choristers,
and the choice of repertoire keep these choristers returning year after year. Bill
insists that a “marriage” or “melding” of variables creates a significant choral
experience, while Barry terms the process “ineffable” when it is just right. As
we discussed their choral singing histories, three themes arose: (1) the significance
of the repertoire; (2) the importance of chorister engagement and growth, and (3)
the conductor’s efficacy as a leader.
Barry, at that time an avid French-hornist as well as choral singer, describes playing
6th horn in Britten’s War Requiem in 1964 at the opening of the Aldeburgh
Festival with Britten conducting. He practiced with the choir during rehearsals,
observing Britten, Peter Pears, David Willcocks, and Andrew Davis construct the
massive work. From 1961-64, as a Cambridge University student, Barry sang in
the Cambridge University Musical Society (CUMS) Chorus, under David Willcocks.
Willcocks ignited Barry’s love of choral singing:
I can’t think of his face without seeing a smile on it; he made it a pleasure
to sing. And on top of the satisfaction of singing well, I was meeting music
for the first time. I was meeting the B minor, Matthew Passion, Belshazzar’s
Feast… You’ve heard of people falling in love with their dentist, because
the dentist removes the pain? I felt that way about Willcocks.
Bill recalls that Randall Thompson’s The Peaceable Kingdom made a strong
impact on him as a teenage chorister. His choral teachers had high standards,
introducing young singers to the best of new music: “We were doing Britten
when Britten was writing stuff. In retrospect, we were so lucky.”
Both Barry and Bill point directly to the repertoire, and to major works in particular,
as a primary source of choral inspiration. In Barry’s words, “grappling first-hand”
with a major work is a consummate challenge: “You get to grips with great music.
That’s the real thing. You can listen to it a thousand times, but when you’ve
worked on it, and sung a part of it, it becomes yours. And that is hugely satisfying.”
Repeating these works doesn’t diminish the experience, he explains. Barry has
performed the Messiah one hundred and sixty-eight times, under countless
conductors, but with each time, the conductor brings something fresh.
Barry describes a performance of Bach’s Mass in B Minor under Yannick NézetSéguin that at times left him unable to sing. The conductor’s imagination, melded
with the glory of the music, stands out as one of Barry’s top choral experiences.
“I’ll go anywhere to sing the B minor mass”, he adds.
Bill describes a performance of Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man which was particularly
significant, both because of the music, and because of the intense level of
chorister engagement. He and Barry agree that socializing in a choral setting is
secondary. The focus must remain on the music, and on giving the score and
the audience the choir’s best work.
Bill distinguishes between choral experiences which are growth experiences
and those which are simply singing-together experiences. Conductors need not
be professional teachers, he qualifies, but they should always be increasing the
competency of the choristers, and of themselves. Do conductors remember
what it is like to be in an ensemble, muses Bill? Is this participatory experience
reflected in their leadership style? Can they meet the diverse levels represented
in the ensemble?
The big challenge is being able to remember that not everybody is at the
same point. Trying to bring some people up a notch when they are new in
the choir, but the people who have a lot more experience. . . giving them
some new ways to do things. As a teacher, that’s really hard. That’s a huge
challenge… For the conductor, and for the choir, that can be really important.
When asked about conductor attributes, both Bill and Barry emphasize the
conductor’s efficiency with time and resources. Total authority of the music
is non-negotiable, but an eye for the more mundane details matters as well.
Advance preparation of chorister divisi or a hand-out on text pronunciation saves
everyone’s time, according to Barry:
Every thirty seconds, a person-hour goes down the drain. If you’ve got 120
people, times half a minute, equals one hour. Well, if this were a business,
if you were in a factory or something, you’d worry about that. You’d say,
‘Look, we can’t be wasting this money.’ It’s just mechanics, but it’s a waste
of time. We’re there to be musicians.
In rehearsal, conductors should be supremely articulate, both explaining and
demonstrating what they want, like two halves to an equation. A clear vocal
model clarifies any rehearsal directive, advises Barry.
Bill agrees that the conductor needs
a solid hold on the details, and in
particular, the logistical details of the
performance. Conductors can “shoot
themselves in the foot” with last-minute
changes to the choir’s physical set-up.
Experimentation with placement in a
rehearsal setting is educational, and
fun, but in a dress-rehearsal setting, it
disrupts singer’s confidence. Bill names
“safety” several times in our interview.
Safety ensures the choir’s excellence:
Planning ahead really creates an
environment where people feel
like, the whole group feels like,
the person in charge is on top
of it, protecting our back, and
hopefully that will create a good
performance... The conductor has
to create an environment that’s
safe in a whole lots of ways.
The conductor must also be humanspirited. Barry likes it when the conductor
tells a story, or lends a personal touch.
After a concert, he often tries to meet
the guest conductor to express his thanks.
Conductors should be “at once, one
of us [chorister], and one of them [a
conductor] – a conductor and a human
being”, according to Barry. Bill recalls
a time when he introduced a new score
to a conductor, and the conductor
went on to program the piece in the
upcoming concert season. For Bill,
this human exchange contributed to a
more significant choral experience.
Strong advocates for the choral art, Barry
and Bill voiced practical suggestions for the
future of the field. Bill urges conductors
to make strategic use of technology,
and in particular, to find ways to engage
choristers in the big picture. Recordings
of rehearsals and past performances
help choristers appreciate the entirety
of their work, a perspective that adds
to the reward of the experience. Barry
emphasizes the need for performing new
works, and for introducing an element
of chance in choral programming: “You
know the result in art; you don’t know the
result in sport”. If the choir presents a
selection of works, and then allows the
audience to vote, concerts will generate
greater excitement, Barry urges.
Audiences will grow.
FOCUS COLUMNS / RUBRIQUES SPÉCIALES
31
CONSIDERING CREATIVITY: Moments of
Illumination in the Youth Choir Rehearsal
problem-solving or challenging opportunities to build their artistic-decision making
skills in rehearsals? Is it these moments of cognitive dissonance and tension that
might lead to more creative development?
REFERENCES
By Sarah Morrison
Psychologist and Director of The Imagination Institute in the Positive Psychology
Center at the University of Pennsylvania, Scott Barry Kaufman offers a 4 stage
process to explain the neuroscience of creativity. The first phase, preparation,
involves the brain using planning and reasoning to gather information. In a choral
setting, this part of the process could involve learning a new repertoire, learning
vocal pedagogy, learning musicianship skills, or any aspect of the choral rehearsal
that involves new information and learning. Kaufman’s second stage of incubation
is that period of considering the problem by letting your mind wander or not
consciously thinking about the new information. This part of the process could
occur over longer periods of time than the duration of a choral rehearsal, but
could also involve those moments in rehearsals where we step away from
the technical aspects of a song and sing it through or where we move from a
challenging song to something different that the choir knows and we allow our
choristers to sing something familiar for pure enjoyment.
"The 4 Stages of Creativity." Inc. August 12, 2015. Accessed September 7, 2015.
http://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/
the-4-stages-of-creativity.html.
I
Dr. Sarah Morrison maintains an active
career as a choral conductor, music educator,
and performer. She is in her ninth season as
the Artistic Director of the Oakville Children’s
Choir, a vibrant six-choir organization focused
on building leadership through music. She is
also the Director of Choral Music at Appleby
College in Oakville where she has taught
vocal music for over 10 years. Her choirs
have won awards at the international level
including a Gold Medal at the 8th World
Choir Games in Riga, Latvia. Sarah is the
2010 winner of the Leslie Bell Award for
Choral Conducting awarded by the Ontario
Arts Council. She sang soprano with the
Canadian Chamber Choir for the past decade
and is a frequent conference presenter in
Canada and the United States. Her research
interests focus on, technology-enhanced
learning environments in arts education;
self-regulated learning processes; curriculum
development; and collaborative models in
choral music education.
n the most recent summer edition of Anacrusis, I focused my column on
creativity and how we might begin to foster the creative process in our work
as conductors, composers, and choral musicians. This is the second of the reflective series on considering creativity through choral music-making. While the last
column focused on nurturing aspects of the creative process in our professional
lives as choral conductors, this column focuses on how the creative process
begins and how we might foster creativity in our youth choir programs.
I am not attempting to address all aspects of creativity from an academic
perspective, but rather this column serves to reflect on various ideas connected
to living creatively, in this case, the idea of harnessing creative power through
thought-provoking moments in our choral rehearsals.
I recently read several articles in the summer edition of “Teaching Music” the
journal of the National Association for Music Education. The journal theme was
“Empowering Creativity: How to Give Students the Inspiration They Need to Learn
and Create in Different Ways.” I thought that these articles would define and
outline methods on how to foster creativity in my choral rehearsals, but what I
actually read was quite different. A few things struck me immediately in my reading,
first of all, the word “creativity” was rarely stated in the journal outside of the
journal title. Instead, articles discussed learning processes like critiquing, observing,
challenging, preparing, and thinking as important pieces in the creative process.
Several articles also referenced major setbacks or challenges as the catalyst
that sparked a creative project. For example, one article discussed the re-zoning
process that drastically cut the number of music students and threatened the
program as the challenge that prompted Kevin Ford to create the Leadership
Conservatory for the Arts at Tarpon Springs High School in Florida. This is not to
say that all creative projects must come from challenges, but in reflecting about
some of my most creative moments of choral programming or new project building,
they were often in response to a problem or issue that arose. For example, low
choir enrolment numbers often prompted me to reflect and re-examine my
programs and question what I might do differently in terms of choir structure,
leadership, and repertoire. Of course, we should always be reflecting and
questioning ourselves as we continually build visions for our choir programs,
but certainly moments of challenge and uncertainty can add an urgency to this
process and perhaps force us to think of solutions outside of our comfort zones
and into more creative territories.
Darling, Cynthia. "Leading a Musical Life."
Teaching Music 23, no. 1 (2015): 42-47.
The third stage of illumination is the classic eureka moment where connections
are made and a new idea is formed. Although Kaufman is intending this process
to occur individually, I want to point out that these steps could also occur in
collaborative settings such as sectionals or other moments of student leadership
in our youth choir rehearsals. Finally, we come to Kaufman’s final stage in the
creative process – verification. He points out that the creative process does not
simply end with the exciting moment of illumination, but rather in the verification stage
where the crafting of the idea occurs. For creativity to reach others, we need to
go a step further and ensure that we are completing the verification stage of the
process. In our choral rehearsals, this could be something as simple as giving
choristers opportunity to share any new musical ideas that came up during
sectionals with the rest of the choral ensemble or having a time in the rehearsal
where individual choristers have opportunity to share their artistic ideas on musical
aspects of the song such as tempo, phrasing, word stress, and dynamics.
Creativity has become one of those buzzwords in education that can be overused
in our work with young people. Much of my reading and thinking about the creative
process has led me to consider the small ways in which I can ensure that there
are opportunities for creativity and instances of illumination in my choral rehearsals.
If we provide circumstances that foster creativity, there is more likelihood that
our choristers will engage in these processes. In my work with youth choirs, this
includes allowing time for collaboration among the choristers, offering challenging
moments in rehearsal, giving time for reflection and discussion, and creating a
rehearsal atmosphere where singers feel empowered to contribute their ideas
to the artistic process.
This reflection made me wonder if this is the case for our students as well and
led me to several new questions regarding the creative process: is part of our
role as choral conductors and educators to foster creativity through collaborative
problem-solving in our rehearsals? How do we provide our singers with these
32
33
NIPIIT KATITTUT – VOICES UNITED:
Inusksuk Drum Dancers of Iqaluit
and the Ottawa Children’s Choir
By Jackie Hawley
Founding Artistic Director: Cantiamo Girls Choir of Ottawa
Former Artistic Director: Ottawa Children’s Choir
N
ipiit Katittut – Voices United is a unique educational engagement project.
This past spring, the Chamber Choir of the Ottawa Children’s Choir, under my
direction, and the Inusksuk Drum Dancers of Iqaluit, under the direction of Dr.
Mary Piercey, collaborated to create this unforgettable experience.
Jackie Hawley is the founder and Artistic
Director of the Cantiamo Girls Choir of
Ottawa and its training choir. She is also
Artistic Director of the Ottawa Children’s
Choir.
Ms. Hawley holds an honours degree in
Music Education from University of Toronto
and a Bachelor of Education from University
of Ottawa.
Educational engagement is long term, on-going, reciprocal and about the “big
picture”. Educational engagement involves careful planning, long and short term
goal setting, making and maintaining connections and most of all it requires a
clear, determined vision.
A group hug in at Inuksuk High School after the thrill of our Music Monday broadband broadcast with the
National Arts Centre in Ottawa.
When the Inuksuk Drum Dancers came to Ottawa in the reciprocal part of the
exchange, this growth and development continued. Chamber choristers and
Drum Dancers had maintained friendships through social media during the weeks
between the two trips so when they got together again at the airport they were
instantly, totally connected and ready for the engagement in the week to come.
When the season began, my focus, as well as teaching vocal/choral techniques
and artistry through repertoire, was to teach choristers to be full participants in
educational engagement. They learned to think critically about why we would
do what we do and how to share that to educate, encourage, and affirm others
while building self-confidence and leadership skills in themselves. They were
guided to being open to new/different ideas and challenges without trepidation
or judgement of themselves or others.
There are a variety of ways this kind of work could be done. I could have facilitated
the workshops in the north with Chamber choristers demonstrating to and
supporting the northern students. I could have written up workshops, taught
choristers how to run them and then let them facilitate when up north. Or, for
the richest learning experience, choristers could create and facilitate their own
workshops based on long term preparation which was started at that first
rehearsal. This proved to be a phenomenal experience with depth and lasting
value on so many levels.
Each day as I watched groups present, I was continually impressed with the
maturity, confidence, competence, collegiality, enthusiasm, and professionalism
with which choristers presented their workshops. I was also pleased to hear
The engagement was reciprocal
and the Iqaluit students from prekindergarten to grade 12 offered
workshops to us as well. It was as
fascinating and impressive to hear six
year olds throat sing as it was to hear
the most experienced in the Inuksuk
Drum Dancers. The sharing was often
spontaneous and was always done with
generosity, patience and good humour.
Chamber choristers were prepared
to be open to these new experiences
and to immerse themselves fully in
each experience with no worry of
judgement of any kind.
Educational engagement requires much more than going into a school and
doing a performance. It also requires more than offering a workshop. That kind
of outreach is useful and valuable but, whenever possible, it is a richer experience
to collaborate with other groups in an exchange of ideas and experiences. This
allows for validation and affirmation for all involved and everyone is on equal
ground as teachers and learners.
Throughout the year, choristers created a resource chart of songs, warm ups and
activities. Our monthly Saturday rehearsal in April was used as a time to work in
teaching groups and create workshops for the various grade levels with which
we would be working when in Iqaluit.
34
insightful reflection and adaptive,
proactive planning for improving
upcoming workshops.
An impromptu drum dancing lesson
In Nanook school, in Apex, the students
and staff were so excited by Chamber’s
singing that they immediately offered
to take us to the gym to teach us one
of their favourite games. Their way of
thanking us for sharing something we
enjoyed was to share something they
enjoyed right back to us! This happened
in many instances throughout the trip.
This kind of engagement builds strong
community and creates one cohesive
group among all involved which allows
for substantial growth and development
in learning and in fostering positive
relationships.
Sharing the joy of singing and drum dancing at the Inuit Children’s Centre in Ottawa
35
igniting ideas. sharing voices.
inspirés d’idées, unissons nos voix
Singing on Canada Day in the Unisong festival with the National Arts Centre Orchestra and choirs from all across Canada.
We now thought of ourselves as one group and it made for a very comfortable
welcome for the Inuksuk Drum Dancers into their billet homes and a wonderful
week of fun and beautiful music sharing.
This fantastic NKVU experience has inspired other choral organizations to show
interest travelling to Iqaluit. This prompted some discerning discussion between
Mary and me about educational engagement and long term goals. We both
strongly agree that this kind of connection is not about a choir “tourist” trip or a
one-off exchange. We both believe in a long-term, ongoing, reciprocal, “big
picture” vision. We both believe in educational engagement.
Choral Conference & Festival
Festival et Congrès de chant choral
Mary and I will continue the NKVU educational engagement initiative and plans
are already underway for the next chapter. I look forward to ongoing educational
engagement opportunities for all of our choristers as we connect and share in the
rich experiences possible for us through music!
may 18-22 mai
edmonton, alberta
conférencier d’honneur
Bramwell Tovey
keynote speaker
artiste invité
Conspirare
Company of Voices
feature performer
14 concerts featuring
some of Canada’s
finest choirs
Closing concert
featuring a performance
of Mozart’s Requiem
in D minor
Special stream for
choir administrators
and Board members
14 concerts mettant
en vedette des
chorales canadiennes
exceptionnelles
Concert de clôture
présentant le Requiem de
Mozart en ré mineur
Volet spécifique pour
administrateurs et
membres de CA
An Inuksuk at the entrance of Inuksuk High School.
For more photos and information check out NKVU on facebook.
36
PodiumConference.ca
37
welcomes
CD REVIEW
Chronos Vocal Ensemble
“Sacred A Capella Music 1843 – 2010”
welcomes
Dr. Jean-sébastien Vallée,
newly appointeD conDuctor
Chronos Vocal Ensemble
Jordan Van Biert, Conductor
By Dominic Gregorio
C
oming off great success at this year’s Choral Canada National Choral
Competition winning the Mixed Voice Adult Choir category and the Healey Willan
Grand Prize, Chronos Vocal Ensemble, led by Jordan Van Biert, release their first
album “Sacred A Cappella Music, 1843 – 2010.” This is a very impressive feat
considering the choir was only founded in 2013!
The album is approximately 30 minutes in length, somewhat short for a choral
recording, but making up for duration with superb quality singing and choral
interpretation. The 32 member choir sounds uniformly excellent throughout with
outstanding attention to intonation, blend, and diction.
Mr. Van Biert describes the recording process:
Our first takes of about half of the material on the disc were live recordings
intended for submission to the National Competition, and for that reason
they were made in a fairly live acoustic at St Timothy’s Anglican Church,
which is a lovely smaller performance venue here in Edmonton.
Jonathan oldengarm,
Director of music
and organist
andrew Gray,
assistant conductor
nicholas walters,
organ scholar and
librarian
choral services
sundays at 11 a.m.
3415 redpath street
montreal
514-842-3431
standrewstpaul.com
musiquestandrewstpaul
200 years of excellence
in sacreD music ministry
A very live acoustic isn’t always best for CD recording where you plan to do
some editing, so that was definitely a challenge. Our recording engineer and
editor Caleb Nelson (who also sings in the group) did a fantastic job with the
mic setup decisions and the editing. This was his first project of this scope - he
does a fair bit of studio work and also live concert recording - and with his
excellent ears and our dedication of quite a bit of editing time together, I
think we came up with a pretty great result.
The album consists of great works of the choral repertoire, such as Mendelssohn’s
“Richte mich, Gott,” Messiaen’s “O Sacrum convivium,” and “Chesnokov’s
“Salvation is created,” as well as three Canadian works: Jeff Enns’ serene classic
“Hear my prayer,” Robin John King’s leaping multi-metered “Exultate Deo,” and
Peter Togni’s “Psaume 98,” an uplifting energetic work in French that I am very
happy to be introduced to. The Canadian works on the album are my favourites
as they are newer and more novel to me. The album flows from work to work,
something Jordan planned carefully: “I think if people are paying attention for it,
they’ll notice a thematic progression in the textual content of the pieces, as well
as a very satisfying series of key relationships.”
The choir closes the album with American composer Greg Jasperse’s lush setting
of the well-loved hymn, “Abide with Me,” an arrangement and rendition full of
warmth and the aura of hopefulness. Congratulations to Mr. Van Biert and the
Chronos Vocal Ensemble for a delightful recording, still in their infancy at two
years old! I am sure we will be hearing many more wonderful things from this
ensemble and their conductor in the years to come.
38
CANADIAN CHRISTMAS MUSIC FOR THE KIDS
CANADIAN CHRISTMAS MUSIC FOR THE KIDS
Gentle Mary, SA with piano
Gentle Mary, SA with piano
The Little Sheep of Bethlehem, SA with piano
The Little Sheep of Bethlehem, SA with piano
Hope was Born Tonight, SA with piano
Hope was Born Tonight, SA with piano
When Christ was Born of Mary Free, SA with piano
When Christ was Born of Mary Free, SA with piano
Carol of the Kingdom SA, descant with piano
Carol of the Kingdom SA, descant with piano
OLDER ‘KIDS’
OLDER ‘KIDS’
Silent Night, SSA a cappella
Silent Night, SSA a cappella
Carol of the Kingdom, SATB with piano
Carol of the Kingdom, SATB with piano
Carol of the Kingdom, SATB a cappella
Carol of the Kingdom, SATB a cappella
Bethlehem, SATB with piano
Bethlehem, SATB with piano
www.renforthmusic.com
www.renforthmusic.com
IN MEMORIAM
Christopher Jackson
(July 27, 1948 - September 25, 2015)
C
horal Canada/Canada Choral mourns the passing of our esteemed colleague,
Maestro Christopher Jackson. Jackson was renowned as the Artistic Director of
the Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal, an ensemble that he led to great
acclaim. SMAM produced nine CD recordings on the ATMA label; their 1998
recording, Heavenly Spheres, was awarded a Félix Award from the ADISQ and
the Juno Award for Classical Album of the Year – Vocal or Choral Performance in 2000.
Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Jackson studied at the École Vincent D’Indy and the
Conservatoire de musique du Québec a Montréal. The experience he sought in
organ building early in his career influenced a much later decision to join the
Conseil du patrimoine religieux du Québec, with whom he aided in the restoration
of Quebec churches and their pipe organs.
He began teaching at Concordia University (Montreal) in 1973, and in 1974
co-founded both the Société des Concerts d’orgue de Montréal and the Studio
de musique ancienne de Montréal. According to the Montreal Gazette, “For
generations of Montrealers, the pure tone and clear expression he cultivated with
SMAM… defined the way Palestrina, Victoria, Lasso, Tallis and other Renaissance
masters should sound.” While best known for a cappella choral polyphony, Jackson’s
expertise extended well beyond that, to Bach, Monteverdi, and contemporary
masters such as Arvo Pärt – to whose repertoire Jackson devoted an entire CD
with SMAM.
M. Jackson was chosen by Choral Canada/Canada Choral to be a juror in the
2015 National Competition for Amateur Choirs; although the diagnosis of lung
cancer made him unable to attend the judging stage in person, Jackson was eager
to participate and sent his highly insightful written adjudications to the panel.
True to his reputation, Jackson demonstrated his kindness, democratic approach,
good humour, and dedication. His commitment to music in Canada was unwavering.
A colleague summarized the tenor of the reaction in Montreal to Jackson’s death:
“We are overcome with sadness.”
C
’est avec une immense tristesse que la communauté musicale a appris
le décès le 25 septembre de Christopher Jackson, co-fondateur et directeur
artistique du Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal, des suites d’un cancer de
poumon. Organiste de formation et chef de choeur, il a été un des pionniers de la
scène de musique ancienne à Montréal et au Canada. Il a permis à des centaines
de musiciens, tant professionnels qu’amateurs, de découvrir et d’interpréter la
musique de Palestrina, de Tallis, de Monteverdi et de Bach. En tant que Directeur
artistique du SMAM depuis sa fondation il y a 40 ans, doyen de la faculté des
beaux-arts de Concordia de 1994 à 2005, et professeur très apprécié de CAMMAC
depuis de nombreuses années, il laisse un immense héritage musical.
Jackson is survived by his wife, Dominique Lortie, and his sons Mathieu, Simon
and Nicolas Jackson. The SMAM’s October 18th concert will be dedicated to
Jackson’s memory and another memorial is planned.
40
REVIEW / CRITIQUE
41
The following individuals, organizations and foundations have supported the Canadian Choral
Foundation and/or Choral Canada in 2014/2015. Thank you!
Global
Les particuliers, fondations et organismes suivants ont appuyé en 2014/2015 la Fondation
canadienne de musique chorale et (ou) Canada Choral. Nous les remercions de leur appui!
Pat Abbott
Lydia Adams
Adam Adler
Anonymous
Norma Belyea
Geneviève Boulanger
Ian Bullen & Small World MUSICFOLDER.com
CBC Radio
Canadian Centennial Choir
Canadian Music Centre
Debra Cairns
Barbara Clark
CL Copland Family Foundation Inc.
Robert Cooper
Cypress Choral Music
Julia Davids
DCINY
Trevor Dearham
Iwan Edwards
Dr. Leonard Enns
Laurier Fagnan
Albert Greer
Dominic Gregorio
Denise Gress
Lew Heuchert
Jill Johnstone
Phyllis Johnston
Margo Keenan
Dick Loomer
Stephanie Martin
Sir Ernest MacMillan Foundation /
Fondation commémorative The Sir Ernest MacMillan
MacLennon Foundation
Eleana McCain
Dr. Marta McCarthy
Dr. Susanna McCarthy
Victoria Meredith
Derek Morphy
Robert Neufeld
Carolyn Nielsen
Karen Olinyk
Jocelyn Pritchard
Province of Nova Scotia
Dr. Leonard Ratzlaff
RBC Royal Bank
Wayne Riddell
Dr. Ardelle Ries
H. Naomi Russell
Timothy Shantz
Singers Helping Singers (Brandon MB)
Sisters of Saint Martha
Mike Steinberg
Neil Strickland
Brian Tate
Ivars Taurins
Joel Tranquilla
Unisong Choral Festival (Oxygen Events)
Jon Washburn
Ruth Watson Henderson
C. Whidden
Whether you want to perform in some of the
most prestigious venues in Europe or get off
the beaten track, ACFEA has offices and
representatives throughout the world to help
you reach your tour goals. From South
America to South Africa, Asia to Australia,
ACFEA can take you there.
“We had a tremendous concert experience
last night in front of an estimated 1,500
at the Bach-Denkmal in Leipzig, a perfect
ending to what has been a great tour,
but just wanted to say thanks for an
outstanding experience for our singers.”
Leonard Ratzlaff, Director
Richard Eaton Singers
“This was another great tour partnership.
Thank you to ACFEA Tour Manager
Amanda and her team for working with
us to provide a wonderful tour experience
for our choristers.”
Kathryn Atkin, Executive Director
Shallaway
Your generous support helps keep Canada singing. Thank you!
Votre généreux appui aide le Canada à chanter. Merci!
Like us on Facebook
facebook.com/acfea
800-627-2141
42
Photos: Richard Eaton Singers performs in the Gedachtniskirche in Berlin;
University of Lethbridge Singers performs in Cork City Hall as part of the Cork
International Choral Festival in Ireland; Shallaway in Porto, Portugal;
Edmonton Youth Choir in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China
ACFEA Tour Consultants, Inc.
110 Third Avenue North, Suite 202
Edmonds, WA 98020
www.acfea.com . email: [email protected]
Are you holding your own?
When you get serious about your music, you’ll choose a folder
from MUSICFOLDER.COM. Whether you’re a singer or band member,
a premium-quality folder says you’re committed to excellence.
And features like deep-grained leatherette, solid metal corner
protectors and double-headed rivets will help keep your scores
safe and organized for years. See our folders and accessories at
www.musicfolder.com, or ask your local music store to order them in.
The Black Folder
(shown with clear pocket option)
Choir RingBinders
Custom imprinting
Band and Orchestra Folder is made of sturdy
leatherette, with solid metal corner protectors.
Music stands including
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(Canada/US) toll-free: 1.877.246.7253 • Tel. & Fax: +1 604.733.3995

Finding the Common Ground between Choral Conductors and

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