Choral Art: Pro Coro Canada at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity

Feb. 20

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.

About the program – Choral Art: Conductors and Composers

Pro Coro Canada in the Rolston Recital Hall at the Banff Centre (Photo: The Banff Centre)

Choral Art: Conductors and Composers is an intensive three-week residency at the Banff Centre that explores the creation and presentation of choral music in the 21st century.

The program explores new works for choir and new ways to present pre-existing repertoire. five competitively selected composers and five auditioned conductors work closely with faculty Michael Zaugg (Swizerland/ Canada), Lone Larsen (Denmark), and Sven Helbig (Germany) developing techniques and new musical approaches while working with 12 singers from resident ensemble Pro Coro Canada. Through workshops, masterclasses, and guided reflection sessions, participants explore and create new works and hone their conducting skills respectively. The ensemble explores movement and improvisation as well as refining their sound as an ensemble.

The program seeks to develop an exchange between a circle of creators and performers active in the choral music milieu. The program also aims to support and bring visibility to the Canadian choral community and connect to the larger international network. Participants will explore new methods of performance and composition for choral music. The Composers and conductors spend intensive periods working independently in individual artists huts, but also with each other and other singers and faculty. A portion of each day will be spent singing together to experience various aspects of choral singing, new sonorities, sounds, and different styles, which includes movement, body work and vocal improvisation. This 360 degree masterclass environment helps bring all elements of choral performance together in one musical incubator. The program concludes with a concert presenting the newly composed works produced for the program conducted by the conducting participants.

The Brilliance of Solace

In addition to world-class facilities, Choral Art participants are each given a Music Hut to write and practice in the beauty of the Rocky Mountains. (Photo: The Banff Centre)

**About the program – Choral Art: Community Choirs**

The voice of Choral Art extends beyond the selected composers and conductors. During each weekend of Choral Art, a group of selected amateur and community choirs will make their way to Banff to become immersed in the world of choral art. These local ensembles have the opportunity to collaborate with award-winning, international composition and conducting faculty, and work with ensemble-in-residence Pro Coro Canada. The workshops also aim to support and bring visibility to the Canadian choral community, and encourage collaboration within the Canadian choral network. Choirs will explore new approaches to the performance of choral music, and will work on pre-existing repertoire, explore new works, and further refine their craft through coaching and lectures.

Upcoming Performances in Banff

Saturday, February 15 – Open Concert: I Eat the Sun and Drink the Rain with Sven Helbig. Rolston Recital Hall 7:30 PM

Resident Ensemble Pro Coro Canada presents the eclectic work “I Eat the Sun and Drink the Rain” written by compositional faculty Sven Helbig. IETS is a work for choir and live electronics. Sven Helbig appears as both composer and as author of almost all the song texts. Over the course of ten pieces he weaves a loose narrative that addresses pressing questions of the present day. The powerfully resonant work suspends delicate choral passages above pulsating synthesizers. Sublime a cappella chords spread out above digitally created sounds, in perfect balance between choir and electronics. IETS builds upon the musical principles underlying pocket symphonies and pocket symphony electronica. Folk-influenced pieces are set alongside subtle harmonic complexes in the manner of Arvo Pärt and minimalistic drone music.

Featuring: Sven Helbig

German composer, music producer, and DJ artist Sven Helbig will be joining Pro Coro Canada as program faculty for the 2020 Choral Art Program

Friday, February 21st - Luminous Voices Presents: The Tudors. Kinnear Centre Ground Floor Husky Great Hall #103 7:30 PM

Directed by Timothy Shantz, Calgary’s renowned professional choir Luminous Voices performs a program exploring the Tudor Period, featuring works by the English Renaissance masters Tallis, Byrd, and Sheppard as well as two world premieres by composers Carmen Braden and Zachary Wadsworth, both providing a modern reflection on the Tudor music.

Saturday, February 29th – Open Concert: Choral Art. Rolston Recital Hall 7:30 PM

All sung by members of the program and featuring faculty from Pro Coro Canada, hear new works created by 5 resident composers in this performance from the Choral Art program. In addition to these new works, you can expect to hear some of the canonical choral masterpieces conducted by the 5 resident conductors. This will be a truly unique Choral experience heard in the intimacy of Rolston Recital Hall.

Follow @procorocanada to Explore The Program

You can follow the daily adventures of Choral Art on our social media stories where we will give you behind the scenes access to the development of inspiring new choral works