Spring 2008
Welcome to the Spring 20008 issue of THE Chamber. Included in this issue:

1. Board of Directors List
2. View from the Chair, Sandy Jasper
3. Conductor's Column, Julia Davids
4. Upcoming Projects
5. CCC Audition Info
6. The Conducting Fellow’s Perspective
7. Singer Spotlight: Bill Hamm
8. CCC Family Update
9. Fundraising Initiatives

2008 Board of Directors

Sandy Jasper: Chair
Tom Lillington: Past Chair
Mark Roberts: Treasurer
Catherine Lippitt: Secretary
Julia Davids: Artistic Director
Matt Pauls
Christina Murray
Sonja van de Hoef
Edward Willett

VIEW FROM THE CHAIR:

Sandy Jasper, Board Chair

2007…what a wonderful year the Canadian Chamber Choir has had! It included our first foray into Alberta with our March project in Edmonton, Calgary and Three Hills, and culminated with our recent tour through Ontario wine country, including Vineland, Hamilton, London, St. Catharine’s and Oakville this past October. Both projects were sensationally successful and incredibly inspiring. Every time the CCC convenes, magic is made!

We currently have all our wheels (and then some) in full gear preparing for what is sure to be the most brilliant project to date. The ensemble will fly to Nova Scotia August 8th to be the choir-in-residence at the Nova Scotia Choral Federation Choir Camp and Conducting Institute. We couldn’t be more honoured to have been invited to take part in this amazing program and simply can’t wait to get there and sing for hours on end! We will add a performance tour on at the end of the camp week, so we will put some miles on around the glorious province as well! We are so lucky.

Right on the heels of our Maritime extravaganza will be our second project in beautiful Saskatchewan. January of 2009 will see us back in Nova Scotia, and then the project we’ve been waiting for, for so many years: our first professional recording which will take place in the life-changing facility of Buhler Hall in Gretna, Manitoba. We have many exciting irons in the fire!!

Right this minute, as you read through our newsletter, perhaps you’re thinking, what can I do to support this choir? Well, if you are, let me first say thank you! And then give you just a sparkle of suggestion! ? It is no secret that the Canadian Chamber Choir, by our very design, is up against inconceivable odds on many levels, not the least of which is financial. And yet, after seven wonderful years, we’re not only surviving, we’re thriving. Although financial support is always welcome, one way to support the CCC without having to pull out your cheque book would be to consider donating a flight on Airmiles in order to get one of our 17 singers from all across the country to the project destination. For instance, for the upcoming Nova Scotia tour, we already have four flights that have been generously donated by CCC patrons (a HUGE CCC thank you Dr. Reg & Roberta Lippitt, Ron & Pat Jasper and Zara Pople). Clearly, the fewer flights we have to book, the more the revenue we generate on tour that can immediately be invested back into the our educational mandates and project initiatives. A tax receipt will be issued for the value of the flight and the CCC would reimburse you (or issue a tax receipt) for the cost of the taxes that still have to be paid on an Airmiles booked flight. If you’re a traveler yourself and have a collection of Airmiles you simply can’t use on your own, the CCC is the group for you.

Thank you to each and every one of you for your ongoing belief in our ensemble, and the countless ways you support us! We hope that we make you proud and will continue to do so for many years!

CONDUCTOR's COLUMN:

Dr. Julia Davids, DMA, Artistic Director

As a new mom, I have a new perspective on multi-tasking- and stress! I thought I was busy before! There are simply not enough hours in the day. The Canadian Chamber Choir is also multi-tasking: working to meet the needs of Canadian singers, composers, conductors, educators, and choirs more than ever. Our recent tour of Ontario was no exception.

I was somewhat apprehensive when I realized that over half of our seventeen singers were new to the CCC. Would they be able to keep up? Would they buy into the CCC experience? The answer was a resounding yes! All of the singers were impeccably prepared and gave all of their energy to the rehearsals, workshops, concerts and meetings all week long.

I was also nervous about working with our Conducting Apprentice, Sonja van de Hoef. Would she have the ability to work with the CCC? Would she be interested in anything I had to say? Once again, yes! Sonja was a huge success. She pushed the CCC musically, asked all the right questions, and inspired us all to grow. Sonja is a force to be reckoned with, and will make her mark in the future on the Canadian choral scene.

I experienced some stress contemplating concerts in my hometown London, and workshops at Appleby College (where I worked for over three years) and at the University of Western Ontario (where I completed my undergraduate studies). I was worried about attendance and how my old peers, students and colleagues would receive the CCC. My fears were unfounded! Our choral collaboration at Appleby College was so fun and inspiring, bringing together over 300 students in musical growth. Working with the Thames Scholars and conducting students at UWO and collaborating with an early choral mentors, Dr. Gerald Neufeld and Dr. Victoria Meredith, was thrilling and motivating. The future of Canada’s choral performers and educators is bright, judging from the excellent education offered at UWO.

I was also anxious to see if composer Jeff Enns would be happy with our interpretation of his pieces, especially his Ave Maria, which we premiered on this tour. Jeff was so kind and gracious, hosting us at his church in Elmira, which was packed to the rafters with his fans! It was a fitting end to an exhausting but wonderful tour.

Finally, I experienced no small amount of trepidation imagining touring with my then seven-month old daughter, Judith, in tow. Thanks to the amazing support of my mother/nanny and the CCC singers and our hosts, I had a wonderful bonding experience with my daughter that I will never forget.

A huge thank you to the many people who made this multi-tasking tour possible! The CCC continues to juggle many exciting projects for the future including a residency at the Nova Scotia Choral Federation camp in August of 2008, tours of Saskatchewan and back to Nova Scotia, plus our first professional recording. Please check out our website and see how YOU can be a part of it!

UPCOMING CCC PROJECTS:

Nova Scotia Tour, August 8-18, 2008

Nova Scotia Choral Federation Choir Camps and Conducting Institute

The CCC is bound for Canada's ocean playground in August 2008. Our good friends at the Nova Scotia Choral Federation are piloting two new choir camp programs in picturesque Berwick, Nova Scotia and thought we would be the perfect bunch to help get them off the ground! The NSCF has a very active membership that has been built up through a long tradition of summer choir camps with programs for people ages eight to retirement. After years of requests and planning, this summer will bring two new programs to singers and conductors from across the Maritimes and beyond: a Young Adult Choir Camp (YACC) and an Institute of Choral Conducting (ICC).

The CCC will be the choir in residence for these two program as well as "lending" 4 of our singers to serve as sectional leaders to another camp for adult singers (ACC) that will be running concurrently on the same site. On August 8th, 19 CCC singers plus artistic director Julia Davids and her family will hit the skies bound for Nova Scotia. Upon arrival at the Berwick campsite (which is more like a wee village of brightly coloured cottages), the choir will have a day and a half of private rehearsal time before greeting the participants of YACC. These young singers will range in age from 19 to 30(ish) and many will be former or current members of the Nova Scotia Youth Choir. After a day of singing and bonding with these folks, we'll welcome 6 conducting students into the fold.

For the rest of the week, the CCC will sing alongside the YACC participants and serve as the lab choir for the ICC students. Dr. Julia Davids will share her expertise with the conductors in daily sessions on the podium and in a classroom setting. Each conductor will have at least 30 minutes of podium time per day as well as the chance to sing and observe their colleagues. Two hour-long debrief sessions daily will allow the conductors to review their discoveries, work on technique, and discuss other important issues like program and rehearsal planning, vocal technique, and more. The YACC singers will also be part of the lab choir but will have a chance to work in small groups with CCC singers to pull together some unconducted pieces for the final concert. All in all, it will be a week of extraordinary music-making, learning, and heaps of fun! Since our two programs will happen on the same site as the Adult Choir Camp and a Junior Choir Camp (for kids ages 8-13), we will have the chance to get to know well over 100 Nova Scotian choral singers!

In addition to the CCC's participation in these fantastic new programs, the choir will also do a mini-tour of the south and west coasts of Nova Scotia. During the middle of the camping week, the CCC will perform in a community very close to the campsite and invite all the YACC, ICC, and Adult Choir Camp participants to attend. After the camping week is over, we'll pack in three concerts on Saturday and Sunday, including appearances on the Musique Saint Bernard series on the French shore and the Evening Classics series at the Chester Playhouse. We are thrilled to be appearing at St. Bernard again in one of our most loved acoustics. This old, stone cathedral was one of the first cathedrals built in Canada and has been preserved in its original condition (it still has no central heating!). It is located in a beautiful corner of the province (near Digby) and we are glad to make connections with this francophone audience again (we appeared on this series in 2002). The concert in Chester will be a delight as this small, arts-focused town is the summer destination of early retirees from all over the world. Mid-August is the height of the town's summer season and the Evening Classics series is very well attended. Finally, we will also give a performance for Halifax audiences with the assistance of the Nova Scotia Choral Federation.

We couldn't head to Nova Scotia without a bit of Maritime fun, so we will spend a bit of time in Peggy's Cove and will be hosted for a seaside lunch by Elaine and Gordon Murray (parents of CCC soprano, Christina) who happen to live right next door to Sandy Jasper's best friend Abby. This team of three will roll out the Maritime hospitality for the choir with a corn boil and other seasonal yummies before sending us on our way to Peggy's Cove (just 10 minutes up the road). Once all of our concerts are wrapped up, we'll bid a fond farewell to Nova Scotia on August 18th and head home. Happily, however, it won't be long before we return since the CCC has been invited by a number of Maritime universities to offer concerts and composition workshops in January of 2009!

The August 2008 project will offer all the fun and intense music making of a regular CCC tour along with the wonderful opportunity to spend a week in residence with Nova Scotian choral enthusiasts of all ages. As partners with the NSCF in piloting these two programs, we are thrilled that this may lead to a regular, bi- or tri-annual engagement for the CCC. We will welcome your support and best wishes for this exciting project!

Saskatchewan Tour, October 18-26, 2008

Plans for the Canadian Chamber Choir's return to beautiful Saskatchewan are simmering.  Here in "the Land of Living Skies", Project Chair Deborah Buck and CCC Sask co-horts Ed Willett, Matt Pauls, Karla Ferguson, Louella Friesen and Leora Godden, have already made one very significant inroad mapping out the tour.  We have planned a highly desired collaboration with Saskatoon Children's Choir (SCC); in December, a fruitful brainstorming session took place with conductor Phoebe Voigts, who is now solidifying plans with Julia Davids.  The SCC is a choir that has earned distinction at international festivals, and at the Choral Kathaulmixw in Powell River, B.C. The organization is known not just for its passion for choral singing, but also for its commitment to and activism on behalf of many notable social causes, such as the International Campaign to Ban Land Mines.  A shared concert and residency with this group will be the focal point of our Saskatchewan visit.  Stay tuned for details.

Once this piece is in place, the planning committee intends to pursue collaborations with other choirs in Saskatoon, as well as Regina, Kindersley, North Battleford, and other centers.  Saskatchewan has many very good choirs, so the field (no pun intended) here on the prairies is ripe with potential!  If YOU have connections in Saskatchewan, including relatives, friends, churches, etc., who might enjoy hosting CCC members or might volunteer their help in other ways, then let us know. Or, if you have an idea for the tour that you think we should pursue, please get in touch with Deb at dbuck@sasktel.net or any one of the other Saskatchewanians! We’d love to hear from you!

Recording Project, August 1 – 7, 2009

Thanks to the fortitude and commitment of the current board, it looks like the CCC is going to soon realize a long-time dream of many of our members: our first commercial recording! Details are falling into place, and we've tentatively booked August 1-7, 2009 for the project.

We're hoping to once again utilize the fabulous acoustics of Buhler Hall in Gretna, Manitoba for the recording (shouldn't have any problems with traffic noise out there!), and a well-respected local sound engineer is also on board. Having this project on the books already means that we can make a long-term concerted effort at fund raising, which will be very necessary for something of this scope. But the effort will certainly be worth it! A professional recording has the potential to open so many new doors for this choir, by giving us the chance to reach into even more communities – and not through live concerts alone – throughout this country and beyond. We will keep everyone posted with more information about this project, so stay tuned for ways that you can be a part of this exciting new development for the CCC!

For more information see the CCC website at: www.canadianchamberchoir.ca/projects/concerts.html

CCC AUDITIONS!

The Conducting Fellow Program

The Conducting Fellow Program provides intensive exposure to conducting a professional ensemble. A successful applicant will join the Canadian Chamber Choir for an entire project. The Conducting Fellow will have the opportunity to conduct the CCC in both rehearsal and performance on repertoire to be determined jointly with the Artistic Director. For more information on the Conduction Fellow Program audition process, please check the CCC website at: www.canadianchamberchoir.ca/connect/fellowship.html

Singers

The CCC seeks singers who love choral singing and will commit to the standards and philosophy of the ensemble. Applicants should hold a minimum qualification of an undergraduate degree in voice, or its equivalent. Applicants must also have significant choral experience. For more information on the singing audition process, please check the CCC website at: www.canadianchamberchoir.ca/connect/audition.html

The Conducting Fellow’s Perspective

Sonja van de Hoef, Conducting Fellow, 2007, Board member

I had the great privilege in October 2007 to be the first Conducting Fellow with the CCC and to work with Dr. Julia Davids. I entered into the choral scene five years ago after graduating from Wilfrid Laurier University with my Honours BMus in Church Music. I accepted the position of Artistic Director with the Milton Choristers and Director of Music at Knox Presbyterian Church in Milton. Knox also has been the primary sponsor for the Adoramus Children’s Choir which I founded and direct.

In the past year I reached a plateau and knew it was time to do something to stay fresh and expand my skills. Pursuing a Masters was not feasible yet, so where do you go in Canada to gain the experience? There are opportunities to sit and observe fine choral organizations in rehearsal, attend workshops, but I needed more. I needed the experience of having someone who would push me out of my comfort zone and come along beside me. To have professional singers who could comment on what worked and what did not was a bonus. That’s when Catherine Lippitt, soprano in the CCC, told me about the Conducting Fellowship and urged me to apply.

In one of our first rehearsals Dr. Davids stopped me and said, “Sonja, left arm behind your back and absolutely no facial expression.” I struggled and flailed about and became quickly frustrated. She quietly stood beside me, put her hand and arm under mine; she moved one way and I went the other. My wrist couldn’t do that lovely ‘clickey-clickey’ thing I was so fond of. You mean we don’t have to sub-divide every beat? Who knew?! On top of this my left hand wasn’t allowed to come in with its elegant circular cut-offs which left me bewildered, but sure cleared matters up for the choir! The light went on; I had been reaching out to my choirs with my arms instead of making them come to me with my hands!

I’m not ashamed to admit this, I hit a wall and it was fabulous. I also realized I used my face to tell my choir what I wanted by mouthing cues, making ‘big eyes’ for crescendos and the horror goes on. All this while my hands did something completely different; a light bulb moment? You bet!! I went to bed Monday evening exhausted and discouraged. Dr. Davids said, “Tomorrow Sonja, you will conduct Durufle’s Ubi Caritas with only your right hand and no beat pattern. Go home and practice this.” I fell asleep with my arm in the air.

Tuesday morning my nerves and I awoke with the dawn. The choir gathered in the chapel at Appleby College, in Oakville. I got up and assumed the position. Hand up, breath, prep beat and suddenly I was doing it. I actually started to hear what was being created. Something clicked, and it wasn’t my wrist! I couldn’t wait to move on to Rachmaninoff’s Ave Maria from Vespers. Oh, the glorious double fortissimo and the words, they were so alive. The things I felt and heard inside were starting to happen outside!

The rest of the week was magical now that I didn’t have to put all my energy into communicating in two different places. I could use my hand, even the tip of my finger to convey information. “Now,” Dr. Davids said, “use your face to show emotion.” It was divine! Dr. Davids describes conducting the CCC like driving a Porsche or Limousine, but I like to compare it to the opportunity I had to drive my brother-in-law’s new truck. To me the CCC is like driving a 350 Dodge Ram with a Hemi. If I was Tim-the-Tool-Man-Taylor I’d be grunting now. Oh, the power!!

Although it was a treat to tour and sing with the ensemble I was so excited to go home and put this into practice. It has taken my choir time to adjust to the new style, but combined with my renewed passion we are making great head way. That’s what the CCC and Dr. Davids, Julia are about: building up choral communities, giving composers a chance to hear their song, and inspiring, motivating and challenging emerging conductors to recognize our full potential.

SINGER SPOLIGHT:

Bill Hamm, Tenor

Your home? Rosebud, AB

And native land? I was raised in Vineland, ON.

What choral groups shaped you musically? Vineland Mennonite Brethren Church Choir (which is still going strong); A Cappella Choir at MBBC in Winnipeg (now CMU); Mennonite Festival Chorus (Shaw, Rilling, Tovey); U. of Ill choirs; My choirs in Rosebud; AND CCC!

What was your strongest musical influence and how did you come to choral music? I grew up in a rich musical environment where there was strong choral and congregational singing in my home church; my parents and their families are fine singers. I was a trumpeter for many years before becoming interested in singing and conducting. Bill Baerg of MBBC was my main inspiration to get into choral conducting; I just loved my college years. I knew when I was singing with or conducting choirs that I was "home".

What else are you doing? I teach music at Rosebud School of the Arts where we have a thriving theatre and post-secondary arts training program. It's located in Rosebud Alberta, a small hamlet about an hour East of Calgary nestled in a beautiful valley. So, I am involved with directing and arranging music for live theatre. I coach ensembles which perform live dinner music, and I also teach speech classes. This has been my life for the past 18 years. Actually, I'm on sabbatical this year, and I'm building a 1 1/2 story garage. I also play hockey, mountain bike, camp and hike/scramble, etc.

What's in your CD player? Mannheim Steamroller; Alison Krause; Tony Rice & Norman Blake.

FAMILY UPDATE:

Tom Lillington (Bass) and his wife Gillian welcome the arrival of Anwyn Elizabeth.  Anwyn was born on January 20th at 4:16am. Tom says, “Half an ounce shy of 10 pounds.  Everyone doing well.  Awe and wonderment.  Extreme tiredness.” All the best to Tom and his growing family!

Kris Snarby (Baritone) and his soon-to-be wife Karen had a baby girl named Tove Jane Snarby on November 22nd, 2007 at 4:02 am. She weighs 7 lbs 14 oz and there are lovely pics of her and the proud papa on Kris’ Facebook profile. Kris and Karen will be married on August 9th, 2008. Congratulations!

Karla Ferguson (Alto) and long-time CCC auxiliary member, promo designer and webmaster Sean McManus bade farewell to the Big Smoke in March 2007 and headed back to "Oh Prairie Land, Sweet Prairie Land" in search of arts admin jobs with salaries attached. They're now settled in Winnipeg where Karla is the Education and Outreach Coordinator for the Winnipeg Folk Festival and Sean teaches musicians how to be savvy business people over at MARIA. When they aren't in high-powered business meetings together, they still find time to play in the roots band, the Dust Poets.

Congratulations to all and we’re so happy to welcome all the new folk- large and small- to the CCC family!

Fundraising Initiatives

The Canadian Chamber Choir thanks it many supporters and donors. To find out about ways that you can support the CCC, please contact our Treasurer, Mark Roberts at mark.roberts.mba@gmail.com or canadianchamberchoir@gmail.com. To donate now, visit the CCC website.