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Program notes - Chori Antiphoni |
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Relationship. The older I get, the more I am aware that relationships – to other people, to the Spiritual, to the earth, to the various parts of myself – are what are most important in life. And being in a choir is all about relationship – not just the obvious social aspect of people coming into contact with each other, but, more importantly, the experience of working together in collaboration with others to create a common product; each singer in a direct relationship with the director and his or her overall vision of a given piece; and each singer in both an indirect and direct relationship with each other as fellow singers in the same choir, or as, say, fellow sopranos. There is a democratic aspect of being in a choir – of each singer being as important as any other (polyphonic music comes especially to mind) – and also a very non-democratic aspect in that all singers must adhere to the director’s directives, and “buy in” to his or her overall artistic vision. There is an extension of that relational quality that we are asking the audience to consider tonight: the interaction and relation of one choir to another. We are encouraged by many granting agencies and other governmental bodies to build bridges to other groups – and for good reason. It not only makes sense in terms of business – the building of audiences, the sharing of ideas, the inevitable self-improvement that comes when seeing how other people and groups do the same thing you are involved in – but also in terms of developing a sense of community, which is, again, relationship. St. Martin’s Chamber Choir (SMCC) and the Colorado Chorale (CC) have long had many, though random, ties of relationship. The Chorale’s former director, Dan Grace, has been a friend of mine for many years, as well as a colleague on the local ACDA board, among other things. Over the years, he has attended SMCC performances, and I CC performances. In addition, three of St. Martin’s current board members have ties to CC: Mark Mulligan and Arianne Burger are both current singers in CC; and Michaela Larsen-Brown, an SMCC singer and the singer representative on the SMCC board, used to be a CC member. Other singers in one choir are friends with – and even significant others of – singers in the other. And now Frank Eychaner, formerly a tenor with St. Martin’s, has moved on to become the Colorado Chorale’s music director. These many relationships have done good things for both groups. But tonight we are turning those random ties into a more intentional relationship – a concert involving both groups, both separately and combined. In the limited rehearsal time we’ve had together, I have heard both groups, as well as myself, being improved by the interaction. It is always good for a choir to sing under the direction of a guest conductor – it strengthens musical skills, increases flexibility, and affirms the permanent director’s admonitions when singers hear another director saying the same thing! – but it is also good for choirs to sing for and with each other. And I emphasize with in the previous sentence, as this concert is in no ways a choral competition. I encourage the audience, though they will hear the strengths and weaknesses of both choirs, not to approach the concert in any sense comparatively, but more as a pooling of resources to achieve an exciting combined product. I pray that, whether you were formerly a CC or SMCC concertgoer (or you are new to both groups), that you thoroughly enjoy tonight’s program, and perhaps begin to add the other choir’s events to your round of activities, as both are wholly deserving of your attention. Timothy J.
Krueger © 2010 Timothy J. Krueger |