The Tom Thomson Art Gallery in Owen SOund, Workshops and A Gluten Free Bakery!

Written by Joseph Goodwin, Bass in Pro Coro Canada

It was day 3 in Owen Sound and also the day of our third concert! I started my day by sleeping in

before heading into town for a rehearsal with the folks from the Choir Camp. Pro Coro Canada is a group of 24 singers, so singing with the larger camp group is a special treat.

Hearing all those voices coming from people of different musical backgrounds is a lot of fun: some of the camp singers have vocal or musicianship training and others don’t, and I have to give a shoutout to the camp conductors, Dr Elaine Choi and Dr Mark Ramsey, for making everyone feel comfortable and encouraged to do their best! I was really impressed by the sound of the choir and it’s too bad we didn’t get to hear their concert at the end of the week.

Our concert venue was St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church. We had our sound check earlier and were feeling good about the acoustics of this venue. Having done a number of choir tours, I really enjoy getting to a new church and seeing how the choir sounds in it. At first, I was worried about the carpet, as that tends to eat up some of the sound, but the shape of the ceiling makes the sound travel beautifully. When I’m singing in the ensemble for the Esenvalds from the back, our voices carry so easily and the choir hears us as if we’re standing right next to them. It should be an easy sing!

Owen Sound is a cute town (or city, as I’ve been told) with a lovely town centre with shops and museums. Since we arrived, I’ve stopped in to Boon, a gluten-free bakery, every single day. In Halifax, where I live, there aren’t any dedicated GF bakeries so I’ve been taking full advantage!

I was blown away by the Tom Thomson Art Gallery. It’s a small gallery but had so much more in it than I expected. There were two rotating exhibits, which I really enjoyed, but I was fascinated by Tom Thompson’s works. I’m far from an art connoisseur, but you can’t ignore his mastery in how he uses light and focal point. I think I’ll be checking out the AGNS when I get home!

The concert went well overall! We changed our layout which made it hard hear some of the cues I’m used to hearing, but this also meant I got to hear some new things, like a line that my neighbour Katarina sings. It’s super high and she nails it every time. Iconic. 

We’re heading to Elora for some rehearsals and our final solo concert in Fergus.