The Simplest Way: a St. Albert composer showcases works

Trent Worthington has a delightfully dry, tongue-in-cheek humour. Just ask his math students at Sir George Simpson Junior High.

But there’s one thing the long-time St. Albert resident takes seriously. That’s music.

More than a teacher, Worthington is one of the capital region’s foremost composers, arrangers and vocalists of choral music.

Music is Worthington’s lifeblood. It dances in his head while eating breakfast, marking papers and even while lying awake in bed at night.

Steeped in music as a young child, the robust tenor has sung, composed or arranged for every imaginable group in Edmonton including Pro Coro Canada, i Coristi Chamber Choir, Edmonton Metropolitan Chorus and Richard Eaton Singers.

Not shy about revealing his fun side, he is also a founding member of The PreTenors, a group that parodies stuffy tenors. And as a founder of EsQuire – Alberta Men’s Chorus, he initiated the infamous Power Tool Concerto, a satire on the different rhythms and sounds that resonate from construction sites.

Worthington’s portfolio is the envy of many and while his work has been performed in major cities across Canada, he still lacks a national presence.

That may change as Chronos Vocal Ensemble releases an album of his work it recorded earlier this year. The Simplest Way CD Release Party takes place Monday, May 16 at the CKUA Radio performance space.

Hosting the one-of-a-kind evening is CKUA deejay Orest Soltykevych. His special guests are A/B Trio, one of Edmonton’s foremost jazz ensembles with Dan Davis (sax), Josh McHan (double bass) and St. Albert’s own Thom Bennett (drums).

Chronos conductor Jordan van Biert initiated talks for a collaboration, and naturally Worthington was completely gung-ho.

It was the perfect match. Worthington had amassed a wealth of experience in every aspect of choral music. And the barely three-year-old Chronos sprinted to the top of the heap after winning the Canada Council’s Healey Grand Prize at the 2015 National Competition for Canadian Amateur Choirs, an event that highlights elite choral groups across the country.

“Not many are aware of the breadth and depth of Trent’s music,” said van Biert eager to promote his old friend’s music.

“There’s loads of amazing music out there, but what makes Trent’s voice unique is in the way he writes music specifically for singers. He’s a singer and he knows how singers want to deliver the text. There’s also humour in his works. He likes to juxtapose different stylistic elements that are challenging and create that humour.”

Worthington contributed six original compositions to The Simplest Way.

One of the most powerfully poignant pieces is Worthington’s Rimini 1944 specifically commissioned for Chronos. It premiered last fall, however, after receiving feedback from the choir, Worthington reworked significant parts into a fresh work.

The text is a poem he found on the website Wartime Canada, an archive of soldiers’ artifacts, poems, letters, songs and books.

“When they (soldiers) were on the battlefield, the last thing they wanted to write about was war. They talked about fields, mountains, home and cooking,” Worthington explained.

He selected the poem written by an unknown soldier because the text affected him as it recounted the experience of war and men who were afraid of dying.

“How futile it seems to be fighting a battle when death is looming. We (soldiers) question why we are fighting. The reality is if we go into battle, we lose your freedom. We’re about to die, and it’s heart wrenching.”

From the unease of war, Worthington also adapted music to the angst of love in I Heard the Sky. And then there is Einstein, a playful litany of the scientist’s quotable quotes sung in four, eight and 12-part harmony.

“I picked six of his quotes and made it the basis of writing that I identified with and gave me musical ideas.”

He has also composed a set of three light, fun Cowboy Songs and another set of Winter Songs. Both are a salute to Alberta.

Worthington plans to attend the CD release party.

“I’m going to enjoy it as much as I can. If I’m able to move an audience or impact a listener or if I’m able to take the stresses out of someone’s life, that’s great.”

Monday’s CD release takes place at 9804 Jasper Avenue at 7 p.m. Tickets are available through chronosvocalensemble.com.

The release is a preamble to Chronos spotlight concert for the 2016 Podium Conference on Friday, May 20 at 5 p.m. at McDougall United Church.

The annual conference, running May 18 to 22, attracts choral singers from coast-to-coast for four days of public choral performances. For ticket information visit podium.ca.