Ring out the old; Ring in the new

2012 has creep-ed up on me, and as I look through my blog posting history of 2011, it's a surprise that google has allowed me to continue residency in this place. Perhaps a simple New Year's resolution would be to put out a post once a week, heck, even once a month would be an improvement!

Before I look at what is to come in 2012, let's look back at 2011, picking up somewhere in September.

It's been, to say the least, a very busy season. I've participated, either as a chorister or conductor, in seven different concert programs. One with Scona Chamber Singers, three with Da Camera Singers, and four with Pro Coro. Ok, I cheat a bit - Da Camera and Pro Coro collaborated on a concert the week before Christmas, and I just counted that one twice - but I had to double up rehearsals with the two different choirs, so it is fair to count it twice.

A very exciting year for all three choirs though, let's stat with the youngest, Scona Chamber Singers. this is our third full season as an ensemble in Edmonton - specializing in early music repertoire. We have a very close association now with Early Music Alberta, also in its fledgling state as a society, just a year and a half old. In October, we mounted a one to a part concert of the madrigals of Monteverdi and Gesualdo. It was a great collaborative effort from the five of us who sang. And a great reminder to me of just how difficult the music of Gesulado is! We were successful, two years in a row now, at securing a bit of grant money from the provincial arts granting organization, and continue to receive support from both my church concert series, as well as Early Music Alberta. I think, in due time, this ensemble will flourish - but it will continue to take some work.

Da Camera is celebrating its 50th anniversary as an ensemble. No, there are no original members in the choir anymore, however we are having a great time going through archive material, and notifying past members to come back in March to join us for a weekend of socializing, and most importantly, singing! Already, since September, we have performed three concerts. One complete a cappella concert of new music and past commissions of the choir, then a collaboration with Alberta Baroque Ensemble, and then the aforementioned collaboration with Pro Coro Canada.

Pro Coro Canada is having an exciting year as well - six concert with six different conductors. The first three were concerts that featured candidates for the position of Artistic Director of the choir. This was an absolutely fascinating process for me as a chorister in the choir. The opportunity to observe three different conductors styles and expertise was as much of a great an experience from a musical standpoint as it was professional development. I learned something from all of them, and took features of conducting style, repertoire selection, diction lessons, and rehearsal planning, and brought them with me to my own ensembles. It was invaluable as a conductor to be able to be a part of this. There is still an official gag order on the selection itself, but no matter which direction the choir takes, we will be in very good hands.

The rest of my choral season of 2012 will bring more memorable moments, and another extremely busy period for the next few months. First, Scona Chamber Singers will present a concert of music from the Sistine Chapel this coming Sunday. We will feature music of Allegri mostly, including a complete performance of his Missa 'che oggi il mio sole (as well as the famed Miserere Mei), but a few other great composers as well. We'll meet again in mid-April for a concert as part of the 2nd annual Early Music Festival, however, my involvement will be limited - more on that later. Pro Coro has concerts in mid-February and early April to round out their season, but the most involved work for me will be with Da Camera.

Our anniversary concert weekend is slated for the first weekend of March. We have invited all almuni members of the choir to join us for the chamber performance of Carmina Burana. The response has been great, and we expect around 90 singers for this performance. However, only a week before that, we will be performing with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra in a choral concert, with a few other local choirs, in a performance of the Poulenc Gloria, as well as works of Bach, Mendelssohn and Schubert. All this music needs to be learned in two months, or about eight rehearsals (including Carmina!) so needless to say, it's going to be busy. After that weekend is done, we revisit Rachmaninoff's All Night Vigil with Spiritus Chamber Choir of Calgary for two performance (one here, one there). At least that's not until May, so a few months to put that back in our ears. We performed it about six years ago, so it should come back fairly quickly.

AND (if I haven't mentioned this before) in mid-April, Kathleen and I will welcome our first child into the world. So ... 2012... Here we go! I hope you're ready!

Singing Tweets

A good friend of mine (also a very fine conductor, and tenor ... and a one-time roommate of mine) has been working in Calgary for the last few years, both as the conductor of the Spiritus Chamber Choir and Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra Chorus.

Calgary's tourism bureau asked people to tweet in ideas of how to warm up during the cold Alberta winters. After some editing and compiling, the CPO set it to O Fortuna (as they were in the middle of production of Orff's Carmina Burana), and it is quickly turning into a Twitter viral video. So much so, that Tim Shantz, and the video will be featured on Wolf Blitzer's Situation Room tonight!

For a sneak peak though, here's the video (Tim is conducting in the video):


I hope you are all finding ways to keep warm!

UPDATE: Here's what the news report looked like on CNN (you may have to wait through a short commercial first, I'm still at a loss as to why we need commercials on internet videos....)

The Interval Song

I think I'm going to get a lot mileage out of this:

Great Expectations

You might read one of two things in the fact that I haven't had a post on this blog since August 30th. Either I've been neglectful blogger, or I've just been flat out too busy.

Well, truthfully, it's a bit of both. I really should blog more, and I can make time for it, but I've also been very busy. I'm back singing with Pro Coro full time. We are going through an artistic director search this year, and the first three concerts of that season are the finalists concerts. We've done one already, and are well into the rehearsal process for the next one. A very interesting experience. I'm very much enjoying what each conductor has to bring, and I'm learning a lot as a chorister and conductor from each of them, so far. Pro Coro's new artistic director will be the first of the great expectations this year.

The fourth concert of the Pro Coro season is the Christmas concert, and I'm happy to say that I've been offered the podium for that one. I'm very much looking forward to joining Da Camera an Pro Coro forces for that one. I still have to finalize the program, something I better do this week.

Da Camera's season is also a busy one - it is our 50th anniversary year, and we are involved in many a collaborative concert. November with Tonus Vivus (Edmonton's Composer's Society), then in early December with Alberta Baroque, and the aforementioned concert with Pro Coro later that month. In late February we sing with the Edmonton Symphony, then a week later our alumni weekend concert feature Carmina Burana. In May we take on Rachmaninoff's All Night Vigil with Spiritus Chamber Choir from Calgary - a great season ahead - the second of the great expectations!

I'm also continuing to build the early music group, Scona Chamber Singers. We presented a concert last week of madrigals of Monteverdi and Gesualdo, all sung one to a part. Considering it was Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada - it was a reasonably well attended concert, and I thought we sounded great! There is one video up from this concert on YouTube now - and there will be more to come yet - click here to see the duet "O Come Sei Gentile" of Monteverdi from that concert. In January we'll present a concert of the sacred music of Palestrina, and then in April a concert of the music of Thomas Tallis, with a larger ensemble for both those concerts. The third of the great expectations of the year ahead.

But, without argument, the GREATEST expectation of the year will come in mid-April, when my wife and I will welcome into the world, our first child!

And so it begins

Last night was the first rehearsal for Da Camera Singers. A few notes about what to expect this year

• It is our 50th anniversary season!
• We have six individual programs to prepare, three on our own season, and three on other organizations' seasons.
• Our theme this year is "Community Collaborations", and we are exploring our relationships with other choral, composing, and instrumental organizations. We will "team up" with Tonus Vivus (Composer's society) Alberta Baroque Ensemble, Pro Coro Canada, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Edmonton Young Voices (Formerly the Edmonton Children's Choir) and Spiritus Chamber Choir.
• Of the "BIG" works we will perform this year, they include Poulenc Gloria, Orff's Carmina Burana and Rachmaninoff's All Night Vigil.
• We are launching a new web page (soon!)
• I have TWELVE Basses! (but only 5 tenors)

Ready ... set ... GO!