Moonshot: To Seek Where Shadows Are
Michael Zaugg introduces the release of the world premiere of “To Seek Where Shadows Are”: A three work cycle from Composer-In-Residence Paul Mealor written for Pro Coro Canada.
Recorded LIVE at the 2016 Podium National Conference.
Erratics: Amy Brandon
“Erratics explores themes of migration, travel and abandonment (in keeping with the subject matter of glacially deposited rocks), keeping at its centre a rich but oblique description of the Albertan landscape. “
Canadian composer Amy Brandon explores composing choral music with the words of Albertan poet David Martin and gives a sneak-peek into Pro Coro Canada’s newly released recording of her work: “Erratics”
Down the Rabbit Hole: Adventures in a Digital Wonderland
“Some of the layers of Alice in Wonderland are sinister, deceptive, dangerous. The name of the place is deliciously misleading, implying a utopia of wholesome fascination. The reality—such as it is—is quite far from that: sense morphs into nonsense, characters turn hostile, the dream becomes a nightmare in the blink of an eye. Almost nothing in Wonderland is as it seems.”
Canadian Composer Jason Noble reflects on his retelling of Alice in Wonderland in a digital age with Pro Coro Canada in Banff.
In The Shadow of A Giant
“In this strange world with magical fjords and enchanted forests the line of the supernatural world and reality seem to be nonexistent. So, of course, while taking hour-long walks in the astonishingly beautiful mountains surrounding Banff, I could not help myself but feeling a little bit like Hilda, exploring her magical world.”
German composer Dominik Dieterle reflects on writing “The Midnight Giant” with Pro Coro Canada at the 2020 Choral Art Program at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
From The Podium: Moonshot I - Ugis Praulins
“Over the coming week, Pro Coro Canada will share some treasures from the vault and, in the spirit of exploring new territory with our Moonshot series, celebrate contemporary music.”
Mother’s Day Dailies
This week, join the singers of Pro Coro Canada virtually from their homes to enjoy daily musical numbers inspired by songs of motherhood, their mothers, and their own children. From Mendelssohn to Rufus Wainwright, we invite you to join us in celebrating A Mother’s Song!
Chase Your Joy: A Lesson From My Mom
“This Mother’s Day, I’m sure the morning light will still come tinged with a hint of sorrow but I will take some time for music and recall with my daughter some of the lighter times we all shared. We’ll look through old photos and reminisce about Nanny’s strength, her passion, and her mischievous side.”
Composer and Pro Coro Alto Jane Berry reflects on her mother, and composing Mass For Recovery: Phoenix Rising for Pro Coro in her honour.
Seeing Light
I know as a singer it is part of my job and training to navigate through this. I know how to plan and work through a practice session even when I don’t feel overly motivated. Even as a generally externally motivated person, I can find necessity in practicing repertoire that is good for me (hello Messiah, Mozart concert arias, and contemporary opera!). I know how to use my voice and focus on my technique when my heart hurts. But what about all of those other voices I am also responsible for?
An Easter Monday Reflection
As we start the new week, many of us having celebrated Easter, we look ahead to the next ‘milestone’, the next personal event, the next virtual gathering or the next announcement about our current global health crisis. I know that these past three days, from Good Friday to Easter Sunday, were for many an important time in their personal Faith journey, and that with the restrictions on gatherings, the impossibility of celebrating with and among the community was highlighted in a stark manner. It was a quiet weekend for most, I assume, and certainly in this household, reflection and gratitude led the journey.
Paul Mealor: A Musical Meditation for Good Friday
“As the whole world enters into a lockdown and state of real emergency, many of us are turning this way and that for answers. Many feel completely lost. It is in these moments that some of us turn to our faith and the Easter message of hope in despair, of light in the darkness and of love in pain. We also, turn to music and through music and within music we allow ourselves to fully meditate upon the true human condition,”
Daily Musical Reflections Through Holy Week
Beginning Monday, April 6th 2020, Pro Coro Canada will present every day a curated musical reflection to accompany your journey through this year’s observance of Holy Week. For eight days, bring the voices of Edmonton’s professional choir into your own home as we open our performance archive to share musical experiences old and new; listen to live recordings from previous Good Friday at the Winspear concerts, featuring Bruckner, Praulins and Mealor, interweaving a contemplative journey to welcome Easter and the coming of Spring.
Scheduling Solace
"My daytimer is filled with colour-coded blocks of time for all the different times and places I’m supposed to be. In the last three weeks, I’ve gone through and crossed out almost everything, and I’ve had nothing to add back in. It’s strange and surreal. I constantly feel like I’m missing things. But, I suppose we all are."
Pro Coro Canada Alto Erin Craig shares her thoughts on the impact of Isolation on Edmonton's musicians
A Time for Everything
What does a performing arts organization do, when public performances are not possible? How will our singers and our audiences experience a concert under further ‘distancing’ restrictions? What is the human potential within our organization and how can it serve the community and the art form?
Choral Art: Meet the Participants
“Each conductor/composer participant is carefully paired to work closely together and with the ensemble bringing new music into the world. The end result is everything Pro Coro Canada stands for in the choral community: The creation of new musical art, a journey of mentorship for the next generation of choral artists, and the development of a stronger connection between all elements of the choral world. “
Choral Art: Pro Coro Canada at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
Perhaps you’ve been wondering where we are? The month of February is an exciting one for Pro Coro Canada as the ensemble has departed south to the Rocky Mountains to spend three weeks as the resident ensemble of the Choral Art program at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. This multi-faceted program features Pro Coro as Resident Ensemble to engage in workshops and masterclasses with some of today’s finest emerging composers and conductors, as well as Canadian community choirs, to encourage collaboration and artistic development within the broader choral community.
From The Podium: Roots II: Korinnya
It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to this musical exchange: Roots. It is a great honour for Pro Coro Canada to work with renowned conductor Mykola Hobdych, and to perform in this beautiful and culturally significant sacred space, St Josaphat’s Cathedral, seat of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Edmonton.
From the Podium: Heaven and Hell
It is with great pleasure that I welcome you today to this musical exploration of Dark and Light, of Hope and Despair - of Heaven and Hell. I’ve given much thought as to the thread through this concert program and would like to share some of my ideas.
From the Podium: Missae VII - with the Male Voices of Pro Coro Canada
It is with great pleasure that we welcome you to today’s concert, the 7th edition of our series Missae .This annual event focuses on musical settings of the Latin Mass text, and we’ve covered over 5 centuries of musical works over the last seasons. Some of the compositions that have stood out are the Mass for Four Voices by Byrd, or the Mass for double choir by Swiss Martin, Cantus Missae by Rheinberger, or just recently, the Mass in E Minor for choir and brass and woodwind ensemble by Anton Bruckner. These are all settings for mixed choir, and today, we’re departing from that tradition, and are presenting four masses for male voices.
From the Podium: Listen, My Beloved
It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the first concert in our 2019-2020 season. The choir has been in existence for nearly 40 years, and today’s program reflects our raison-d’être through a selection of eclectic a cappella masterworks from the European tradition interspersed with new Canadian music.