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En Route – 20 February 2008

I’ve never flown first class before, but let’s just say I’m impressed. Two cocktails, several snacks, and legroom fit for a giraffe later, I can say that I’m ready to take on Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

I’m heading there for the Northwestern ACDA Convention, which is an exciting venture for me on two fronts: 1. ACDA conventions are always spectacular and fascinating, and 2. I’ve never been to Canada. In fact, I’ve only visited one foreign country before today: Mexico. So this is a travel benchmark for me.

(Speaking of international travel, I’ll be traveling to London in June: another international credit I can add to my list of travels.)

My hope is that I will be disciplined enough to chronicle my experiences at the convention . . . we’ll see how that goes. Only time will tell, so check my blog to make sure I’m on task!

We’re about to land in Vancouver. I am so elated and excited . . . perhaps the effects of the cocktails are beginning to set in.

Day 1 – 21 February 2008

Reading Session: H.S. Mixed and Men’s Chorus

I emerged from the warmth of my hotel room early this morning, and braved the cool, crisp air of Vancouver’s February dawn to attend a reading session. This particular event was surprisingly well-attended, apparently unexpected by the staff who quickly ran out of supplies.

Many people seemed grumpy and crabby. I guess they should have slept in. I was in a good mood, excited to be in a “foreign” country.

I was lucky enough to snag a pile of music for the session, and I found a seat in between a tenor and a bass. The director of the session was very friendly, warm, and inviting, but several of the attendees chattered while she attempted to engage us.

We began to sing.

The tenor to my left had a lovely, controlled voice. The bass to my right didn’t sight read well, but no bother. He was trying! The altos behind me were over-singing. After the 5th or 6th piece, I realized this reading session wasn’t helping me because all I could hear was alto.

So I left.

I found a Starbucks, purchased a grande coffee, and sat down. To my left sat an older gentleman who noticed the music I held in hand. He said, “Is that Bairstow’s Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence?” This commenced a 30-minute conversation about choirs, teaching, Salt Lake City, and San Francisco: a very pleasant exchange, and a nice guy, to boot.

Not a bad start.

Concert Session 1

This concert featured four Northwestern choirs: Pacific Youth Choir/Coro Pacifica, Voce Femminile, Vancouver Cantata singers, and Male Ensemble Northwest.

Pacific Youth Choir/Coro Pacifica: A girl’s choir in all ways but name, the PYC presented a varied program of music from all over the world, including the world premiere performance of Balulalow by Robert Kyr (with whom I studied at the Oregon Bach Festival in 2005). Though the soprani tend to offset balance in this ensemble, this is a very good choir, and a great youth choir. Their performance of Lauliku Lapsepoli by the Estonian composer, Veljo Tormis, was my personal favorite.

Voce Femminile: Clearly the best ensemble at this session, Voce Femminile of Willamette University displayed its versatility by performing a wide variety of works: some fun, some serious, some in the middle. The abbreviated arrangement of Mozart’s Overture to Die Zauberflote by Arkadi Serper was adorable, albeit difficult! Their performance of Schubert’s Der 23 Psalm was especially sensitive and musical. I didn’t appreciate Clifton J. Noble’s arrangement of Elijah Rock, although it was performed masterfully. Great intonation, very nice ensemble, exceptionally musical.

Vancouver Cantata Singers: The uncharacteristically short and happy Bogoroditse Devo by Arvo Part began the Vancouver Cantata Singers’ portion of the program. The group defied the rhythmic rigor and edge demanded by the score, and instead performed it gently, taking time between phrases. This was a good (and appropriate) interpretation. Nice intonation and balance, too. Die Stimme Des Kindes by Jaako Mantyjarvi came next on the program. What a find! Elegantly dissonant with lush, chromatic harmonies and thick textures, this ethereal, sensuous piece was especially appetizing (and immensely challenging). The choir’s sound simply wasn’t big enough to convincingly execute this heavyweight composition. Still, a good choir.

Male Ensemble Northwest: I stayed only for Male Ensemble Northwest’s first number, Psalm 98 (Shout for Joy!) by Dan Davison. They sounded great, but my attention span began to fall by the wayside, so I decided to take off as soon as the audience burst into applause.

One concert down!

Concert Session 2

This concert featured the East Junior High School Mad Jazz, the Eagle High School Sonous, the Alaska Chamber Singers, and the Oregon State University Chamber Choir.

East Junior High School Mad Jazz: This session began with a bang, as the impressive voices of the East Junior High School Mad Jazz filled the auditorium. These little ones sounded bigger than they looked. They were capable enough to successfully pull off polyphonic works, such as Dixit Maria by Hassler. The theatrical and comedic The Forest of Loo by Lee Ann Dresser was entertaining and hilarious. A professional ensemble couldn’t have done it better.

Eagle High School Sonous: This choir’s greatest attribute is its capacity for volume. These kids sure know how to fill a space! This was especially evident in He’ll Make a Way by Byron J. Smith, a spirited gospel tune. I was unimpressed by the narration that occurred between pieces, recited by a Drama/English teacher from the high school. It was an unnecessary distraction.

Alaska Chamber Singers: A fine ensemble with a perfectly balanced sound that sang the most boring repertoire . . . with utter expertise. They lost their sense of balance in Brahms’ Der Abend, which isn’t surprising because when most ensembles sing German, for some reason they tend over-sing, and vibrato reigns supreme. The highlight of their performance was I Thank You Jesus by Robert L. Morris: a true crowd pleaser, and ACS’ only upbeat, face-paced piece. They performed it extremely well and seemed to enjoy it. They should do more repertoire like this.

Oregon State University Chamber Choir: The OSUCC was a good choir. Not great. I say this because at times, they sound like a true world-class choir. Other times, insecurity and vulnerability were audible enough to cut through the texture like a knife. Especially because they were last on the two-hour program, my patience for such inconsistency did not exist. The tenors in this group need a lot of work, as their intonation, support, and overall shallow sound were lacking. At the very least, OSUCC’s last number, Moses Hogan’s Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel, was stunning and powerful. Their sound singed off my eyebrows. Wow!

Day 2 – 22 February 2008 (Happy Birthday, President Washington!)

Nutrition for the Choral Singer: Feeding the Voice and the Soul

This was an interest session hosted by baritone, conductor, educator, and author, Dr. Timothy Seelig, who teaches at Southern Methodist University in Texas. He began his lecture by expressing a desire to move to the Northwest. “It’s not that I want to run to the beauty up here,” he said, “but to escape the ugliness down there,” as he humorously spoke about the construction of SMU’s new library, oxymoronically called the “George W. Bush Library and Think-tank.” The audience chuckled.

This set the tone for a fun and incredibly informative session. Dr. Seelig kept the jokes rolling throughout, where he unabashedly poked fun at band directors, singers, and the silly things we choral directors do. The title of the event is an elaborate version of the simple analogy he uses for the topic: choir rehearsal warm-ups are like five course meals. Each course serves its distinct purpose, is always presented in order (dessert is always last!), and is never skipped.

Here are the courses:

1. Appetizer – Posture
2. Soup – Breathing
3. Salad – Phonation
4. Entrée – Resonators
5. Dessert – Artistry

Dr. Seelig brilliantly made his case for each as a necessary element for successful and healthy singing. He demonstrated several exercises in each “course,” and every single exercise was innovative and achieved immediate results. His philosophy is that singers should understand the function and desired goal of each exercise, and that choir directors should avoid using language that may seem meaningless to the average person. “Sing through the ‘O,’ what is that? What does that mean? It just sounds stupid to the average person,” he said.

I have to admit, when I saw the contents of his presentation on the handout distributed as we entered the conference room, I rolled my eyes and thought it was going to be silly and potentially meaningless. But as soon as he embarked on the topic, it made perfect sense and inspired me deeply.

I plan on purchasing his books and DVDs. I have a lot to learn from this guy.

Concert Session 3

Only three choirs performed at this concert session: the Gov. John R. Rogers Choir, the Oregon State University Meistersingers, and Opus 7.

Gov. John R. Rogers Choir: This was an impressive high school choir. Their range of expression and overall mature sound rose far above the average expectation for singers at their age level. Their singing was a welcome distraction to their hideous choir robes (I’m sorry, but choir robes should be banned, especially for choirs which serve no liturgical purpose). The repertoire was mostly soft-rocky, coffee commercial-ish, touchy feely music, book-ended by a song in Spanish, Portones Abiertos Y Rostros Brillantes by Paul Basler, and a gospel tune by Jeffery L. Ames called Let Everything That Hath Breath. Especially stunning was a mezzo-soprano solo in Pepper Choplin’s We Are Not Alone. This talented young lady was not credited in the program.

Oregon State University Meistersingers: Before this concert session began, I fought through the crowds in pursuit of a restroom. The hallways were filled with the choirs scheduled to perform at this session, including the OSU Meistersingers (a men’s chorus), which seemed especially tired and presumably hung over. The night on the town affected their singing, as their intonation was always on the low side. Their repertoire was great, but I’m sad to say it wasn’t sung as well as it should have been. One really cool piece was Ramkali, an Indian Raga arranged by Ethan Sperry, which attempted to imitate the timbres of a traditional raga ensemble. The introduction featured overtone singing, which seemed to imitate a celestial sitar.

Opus 7: This was a skilled ensemble that performed contemporary classical music only. The oldest work on the program, Finzi’s My Spirit Sang All Day, couldn’t have been performed better. Diction, intonation, dynamics, tempo, and expression: all were executed perfectly. I’m not sure I’ve heard a better performance of this work. The rest of the program was average, and at times exposed Opus 7’s shortcomings (lots of tuning issues when breaking into eight or more parts). Snow (The King’s Trumpeter) by John Muehleisen was an attractive piece scored for mixed choir and solo trumpet. It was reminiscent of Ives’ Unanswered Question, a work commonly alluded to these days.

Day 3 – 23 February 2008

Concert Session 5

I skipped concert session 4 yesterday because it was smack in the middle of the day. Instead, I hiked about Vancouver’s breathtaking Stanley Park.

The performing ensembles for concert session 5 were the Camerata Vocalis Tubingen, the St. Mary’s Varsity Ensemble, the Portland Symphonic Choir, and the Whitworth Choir.

Camerata Vocalis Tubingen (Germany): Uh oh, another inconsistent choir. Sometimes they were very good, and during those moments I really wanted to like them. But they fell apart so often, I was left severely disappointed. Their sound was tiny, intonation lazy, diction messy, attacks sloppy, and ends of phrases careless. Sometimes it sounded as if they were out of breath, which I find ironic since they made very little sound. However, their rendition of Brahms’ Nachtwache II; Verlorene and Mendelssohn’s Der Gluckliche were quite beautiful, full, and rich, and starkly contrasted their performance of other pieces.

St. Mary’s Varsity Ensemble: It’s always a blessing to be challenged artistically, for convention to become trivial, and for visceral objections to the “new” to transform into inspirations. That is exactly what happened to me during St. Mary’s Varisty Ensemble’s performance. These young men from Tokyo are high school students, and yet, their showcase was one of the most musically sophisticated, engaging, and inspirational performances I have ever witnessed. Ever. Their repertoire was a masterstroke of programming (kudos to the director, Mr. Randy Stenson), an excellent and fascinating spread of delicious music: Festival Gloria by Randall Johnson (premiere performance), Regnum mundi omnem ornatum by Jacob Handl, Salmo 150 by Ernaini Aguiar, Amor De Mi Alma by Z. Randall Stroope, Ave Maria by Giulio Caccini, Tres Cantos Navitos Dos Indios Krao arranged by Marcos Leite, Skip to My Lou arranged by Rachel Stenson, and Taishime arranged by Minoru Miki. Back to my “visceral objection.” As they sang each piece, the men of the ensemble waved their arms about, and it was immediately clear these movements were not choreography. They were kinesthetically engaged in the gestures of phrasing and articulation, which upon first viewing was extraordinarily distracting. I giggled a bit at the sight, and had to close my eyes to understand what their movement was doing. Their phrasing was absolutely perfect, and their rhythm was disciplined without compromising their exceptional musicality. For me, the result justified the method, and I eventually became accustomed to their movements. They also changed standing arrangement for each number, which refreshed the visual landscape of the stage. Overall, this performance was an enlightening experience. Bravo!

Portland Symphonic Choir: And back to the conventional. Yes, this group performs a lot of repertoire by living composers, even original works written specifically for them. And yes, they’re a disciplined ensemble possessing a solid sound. Yet, to go from cutting edge back to common execution is like going from HDTV back to standard definition. Following the St. Mary’s Varsity Ensemble is, for this very reason, an issue of unfair placement. It wasn’t fair for the Portland Symphonic Choir, and it wasn’t fair for the audience. During their performance of Lux Aeterna by Bryan Johanson, I sank in my seat and was overcome by drowsiness. They sounded really good, even great, but the piece was uneventful and lacking invention, and I also had a hard time letting go of the St. Mary’s Varsity Ensemble experience. I decided to leave after the first piece ended, except it went on for a good 12-15 minutes. As the piece arrived at its inevitable and welcome conclusion, I picked up my materials and readied to leave during applause. Except, applause was forbidden until the end of their entire set, which I learned only after they began their second piece (it was posted in their program). About a minute into the piece, I left anyway. I don’t understand why they insisted on refraining from applause. The three pieces on their program were different pieces, not partitioned movements of the same work.

Whitworth Choir: I didn’t stay for this one.

Farewell, Vancouver – 24 February 2008

I’m typing this entry on the plane, just as I did when going to Vancouver. I’m wiped out, ready to go home, and can’t wait to sleep in my own bed again.

That isn’t to say Vancouver was easy to leave. It is such a nice town: clean, friendly, a good balance of urban and natural, plenty of culture and sophistication, and more. My activities outside of the convention were fulfilling and fun. Vancouver is just that great!

Looking back at the convention, I learned a lot, heard a lot, loved a lot, and disliked very little. I see that my blog posts get progressively crankier as the days away from home wear me thin; but as a whole, it was a complete and total good time.

Next year’s ACDA convention is in Oklahoma City, which doesn’t sound too appetizing to me. But I’m hoping it’ll be a pleasant surprise, like Salt Lake City’s convention was in 2006.

Nonetheless, Vancouver was a great place for this year’s convention, and I am eternally grateful to the ACDA northwest division convention planning committee for choosing such a wonderful destination.