From the Podium #22.1
January 11, 2022
Dear Friends and Supporters of Pro Coro Canada,
As the cold-spell has finally broken, and we’re finding ourselves suddenly in ‘tropical’ temperatures here in Edmonton, Pro Coro has started with rehearsals for the upcoming concert We Breathe In Stars. We’re moving ahead with all the precautions we can take, distanced and masked and with many fresh-air breaks, and also providing online access for singers stuck at home due to symptoms and isolation requirements.
Our upcoming concert features music that was written during the early part of the global pandemic, in the summer of 2020, and takes into account the working environment we found ourselves in. We were able to keep working and singing, but only in small groups. You might recall our concerts in October and November of 2020 with the choir split into groups of 4 or 6 singers. We also heard from directors of community choirs that a choir practise online is not very promising if the music does not lend itself to be rehearsed at home alone. So, taking all that into account, we asked for choral compositions in four parts only (one part for each soprano, alto, tenor and bass) and with an approachable harmonic and melodic language. All these works were then recorded by Pro Coro singers, and made available as practise aids for community members.
As always, when commissioning new works, we never know what will end upon our music stand. And having 8 new works arrive at the same time, we’re excited about the diverse styles and approaches to writing with the above requirements in mind.
Several of the composers also engaged with a poet in finding a text that would reflect or comment on the pandemic experience, for example the poem by Gemma Hicken ‘How good will it feel’, set to music by Allan Gilliland, or ‘Droplets’ by poet Jeny Couzin and composed by Laura Hawley.
In addition to the 8 works, I also included a work by Allan Bevan, who recently moved to Edmonton to be director of music at Robertson-Wesley United Church. And, the 10th work on the program is by Jane Berry, who wrote ‘I am Small’ for the 2021 Alberta Youth Choir as their composer-in-residence.
I hope we will be able to perform for you, in-person, in 10 days from now, but we are of course closely monitoring the development of the current wave, and will pivot our production if we feel that the health and well-being of singers, staff and patrons can not be assured.
UPDATE: This concert is still scheduled for in-person and online presentation as of January 17, 2022. Get tickets by clicking the button below.
Until then, with my best wishes
Michael Zaugg, Managing and Artistic Director