Dear Friends and supporters of Pro Coro Canada

The Great Canadian Giving Challenge is here! This June, every $1 you donate to Pro Coro Canada through CanadaHelps enters us for a chance to win $20,000! Historically, June has been a slow time of year for fundraising, and the Great Canadian Giving Challenge was launched in 2015 to help charities across the country engage their supporters and raise money for their causes.

Click the button below to donate to Pro Coro through CanadaHelps; the more you give, the more chances for us to win!*

Thank you for your continued support of Pro Coro Canada. I look forward to announcing our next season soon, and we might have one more surprise in stock before we end 2020-2021. Keep an eye out for announcements in this newsletter.

With my best wishes

Michael Zaugg, Managing and Artistic Director

Tumsa Gaju by Ugis Praulins

With the start of Michael Zaugg’s tenure with Pro Coro Canada in 2012, our organization established a relationship with Latvian composer Ugis Praulins, which eventually led to the creation of Pro Coro’s composer-in-residence program. The very first concert of newly-appointed director Zaugg included the Canadian premier of Praulin’s The Nightingale, a 30 minute work for 24-part choir and recorder. Since then, Ugis has written several works for Pro Coro Canada, and we have expanded our vocal and musicianship skills to master his music. 

The work we would like to invite you to re-visit is the Canadian premier of Tumsa Gaju / I walked in Darkness, recorded live two years ago at the Edmonton International Choral Festival. Our guests are the Georgian Folk Ensemble Didgori. This composition shows the mastery of Praulins in combining traditional folk songs, the Georgian singing style and a classical chamber choir sonority, resulting in a genre-bending, rousing and eclectic choral experience.

Līdzi, Diev(i)s, debess tēv(i)s ... 
Help, God, the father of the Heavens...
Es iesāku garu ceļu:
I started a long journey (a tough road): 
Augsti kalni, dziļas lejas, 
High mountains, deep valleys, 
Ātr(i)s man(i)s kumeliņis [kumeliņš]. 
Fast is my horse (steed).

Tumsa, tumsa... 

Darkness, darkness... 

Lyrics of the first section, annotated by composer Ugis Praulins.

Connect with us!

We may have to be apart right now, but there are still lots of ways to keep in touch. We would love to connect with you!

*Great Canadian Giving Challenge: Contest Details

Donations must be made via canadahelps.org. Minimum $3 donation required. Contest runs from June 1, 2021 at midnight NDT to June 30, 2021 at 11:59:59 p.m. PDT.

See full rules by clicking here.