This week from November 10 to 14, the U of T Macmillan Singers are participating in University Voices, a major national choir festival sponsored by Soundstreams Canada and broadcast on CBC.
The Singers, under conductor Doreen Rao, are hosting university choirs from McGill, Ottawa, Guelph, Laurier and Lethbridge, Alberta for a five-day festival of choral camaraderie, unique experiences for budding singers and composers, and lots of intense rehearsal with internationally renowned Swedish conductor Robert Sund.
The week will culminate in a gala concert at 3 p.m. on November 14 at Metropolitan United Church on Queen St., featuring renowned cellist Shauna Rolston and organist Michael Bloss. The works of two North American composers-American Giles Swayne and emerging Canadian talent Craig Galbraith-will be premiered.
For something closer to home, the choirs will perform selected works from their repetoires this Friday night at Walter Hall at the Faculty of Music, starting at 8 p.m., with tickets available at the Faculty box office.
The coming together of these choirs creates a rare opportunity for collaboration and dialogue between university choirs at the members’ level, and it is this chance that the Macmillan Singers are most looking forward to.
“It’s a good atmosphere because we can learn from other choirs,” says second-year Singer and Music Ed. student Jeff Magee. “Hearing other choirs that are at the same level as we are is educational for them and us.”
Also anticipated is the arrival of Sund, a celebrated conductor who will take the choirs through an intense four days of musical preparation for Sunday’s gala event. First year Singer Patrick Dewell, a second-year Music Specialist, welcomes the chance to delve into the music beyond the choir’s normal rehearsal time. “There’ll be lots of time for refining and learning from different people, and we’ll get a different perspective on how a choir can run from working with Robert Sund.”
Though the festival has the choirs performing a diverse and challenging program of modern and classical music much of the week, there are several composer chats scheduled that both the university choirs and local high school choirs can take advantage of. Second-year bass Matt Otto is looking forward to the chance to meet with and learn from these up-and-coming composers. A composer himself, Matt and the many other composition students in the choirs can gain insights into how a composer works and what his intentions are in composing, something that doesn’t always come through in the finished work.
“And we can determine if he succeeded or not,” based on the final product, Otto explains. Otto sees meeting the composers, especially Canadian Craig Galbraith, as a motivator, adding, “As a Canadian composer, it’s good to know that someone is supporting our work.”
The University Voices Gala takes place Sunday, November 14 at 3 p.m. at the Metropolitan United Church (56 Queen Street East). Tickets are $12.50 for students and are available at the St. Lawrence Centre Box Office by calling 416-366-7723 or online at www.stlc.com.
