Renowned choir ready for new season

This year Pro Coro Chamber Choir is short an artistic director. But instead of creating instability and insecurity, a genuine excitement and sense of renewal is sweeping throughout the 24-member choir.

Last year when Richard Sparks vacated the podium, the choir kick-started a talent search that attracted applications from seven countries.

Three exceptional finalists were chosen. Magen Solomon, Mark Bailey and Michael Zaugg have been tapped to lead a trio of concerts with eclectic material designed to challenge the choir and excite audiences.

Launching the concert season on Sunday, Oct. 2 at McDougall United Church is Magen Solomon, a multi-talented San Francisco-based choral conductor, former university instructor, writer and adjudicator.

“From what I’ve seen, she is extremely passionate about new music. She has premiered hundreds of pieces of new music and she enjoys working with relatively new compositions,” says St. Albert’s own Trent Worthington, who is acting as interim artistic director.

Professional choirs are quite rare in North America, and for Solomon, dropping into an unknown situation and discovering the strengths and weaknesses of her singers is a bit of an adrenalin rush.

“It makes me dig deep. It’s interesting to get to know people’s voices, their habits and their human side,” she said.

In speaking with Solomon, it quickly becomes apparent that she is a strong believer in building concerts as active pastimes.

“It’s important to grow creatively, culturally. Texts can be playful, sensuous, thought-provoking or comforting. The combination of text and song is magical and that’s where we have it over an orchestra,” she said.

Her Dawn to Dusk – The Circle of Life program is built around multiple languages with music from early Renaissance to modern day compositions.

Leafing through sheet music of 200 composers from traditional to avant-garde, Solomon selected 16 composers. They range from a brooding French song by 16th-century Orlando di Lasso and a traditional Bach motet to a secular Schubert composition and a sacred Mendelssohn work.

From the 20th century onwards, she includes a Brazilian folk song and Bay area Allen Shearer’s The Marriage, a quirky work inspired by a Mark Strand poem that talks about a wind blowing two people together.

She even commissioned Calgary’s Veronika Krausas to compose Ouroboros specifically for this concert.

“The text is from Ecclesiastes, meaning there is nothing new under the sun. This complements the whole concert which is about the cycles and circles,” she said.

Ultimately Solomon aims to create an afternoon that is musically, emotionally and intellectually satisfying.

“Some pieces are warm and comforting. Some pieces make people think. Some can relax and others will feel hard. But there is something for everyone.”