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Dear friends and colleagues March is around the corner and at this time in the year, we would normally have our upcoming seasons drafted. It is a favourite phase for me, the compiling of concert programs, and the sifting through scores and listening to old and new repertoire. I don’t know how you are thinking about the upcoming season and about the choral programming or voice and education curricula you have to create. One thing that I have realized over the past months is that I have to re-build the sound of my ensemble. While with Pro Coro Canada we were able to keep rehearsing and performing through most of the pandemic, the ensemble was, due to gathering restrictions, divided into groups of 4 to 8 singers. I believe that we will find ‘our sound’ fast enough but I will program repertoire that will strengthen the sense of ensemble and highlight choral techniques that have suffered over the last year. In an upcoming edition of our EAR newsletter, I will talk more about ideas around programming for that specific purpose. Last week, I was in a virtual residency at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, at the invitation of Dr Phillip A. Cooke
Head of Music, ALM & Senior Lecturer in Composition, and facilitated by PHD student Tobias Patrick Wolf (former participant of our EAR program). From Monday through Friday, I presented and coached on various choral-related subjects, see below for the workshops on contemporary choral techniques. Of course, all of this had to happen via video-conference, and we were supported by the team at MacEwan University, led by Professor Michael A McDonald. Michael has worked with Pro Coro in the past, and you can find his feature documentary Living Flame of Love on our TV channel. Another MacEwan personality we feature today is Allan Gilliland, see below for a recording of his work ‘How Good Will It Feel’. Next week we will welcome Dr Sara Books. Sara has been a member of Pro Coro Canada for many years and has a DMus from University of Alberta. Over the last two years, Sara has been completing a masters in counselling psychology and has developed a special interest in musician mental health. Over the last several months, she has been leading workshops for music communities across Canada. Her workshops discuss musician mental wellness as impacted by our current pandemic, and include topics such as self-care, sleep and nutrition, self-talk, and emotional health.
In the next editions of our EAR newsletter, Sara will provide us with some insight on the topic of self-care and its role in sustaining a musical career.
And below, you will also find information about ChoralSpace, an international education platform with a great roster of choral specialists.
With my best wishes,
Michael Zaugg
Managing and Artistic Director
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