Tooting my own horn.

Reprinted below is an article from the Edmonton Journal - outlining my next two weeks of concerts here in Edmonton. Which will also help explain my quietness lately. I hope to be back blogging at full strength here in about a week or so.

The link to the actual article is here.

The article is cut and pasted below, as I'd like to keep it someone for when the online version disappears! (The actual print version included a nice picture of ME!)

Concerts have Brough working double time

Season-enders for Da Camera, Richard Eaton

By Tom Murray, The Edmonton Journal May 22, 2009

It's going to be a busy week for John Brough.

Not that the local music educator, conductor and musician isn't always juggling multiple roles; it's just that with season-ending performances for two organizations to take care of in six days, he's taken on an impressive workload.

"I've got some very able help with both of these concerts," he chuckles over the phone from Holy Trinity Church, where he's subbing for vacationing staff. "I'm able to step in and just do my job because of it. I think that afterwards I'll need some rest. Maybe hit the links."

The golf season beckons, but for now -- music. He'll be sharing duties with conductor Jordan Van Biert on Saturday night for the Da Camera Singers's performance, one that has Brough leading the choir through a take on Josef Rheinberger's impressive Mass in E Flat, known as the Cantus Missae.

"I've sung it before with Len (Ratzlaff) and the Madrigal Singers," he notes. "I guess I was just waiting for an opportunity to conduct it myself."

The Rheinberger piece that Brough enthuses about will be part of a program that includes works by Brahms, Wolf and Schubert.

The Da Camera Singers's season-ender takes place Saturday at 8 p.m. at the First Baptist Church, 10017 109th St. Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for students and seniors, available at Tix on the Square or at the door.

Brough won't get much time to relax after the concert. Next Friday, he'll be leading the Richard Eaton Singers on their final outing for the season.

Anton Bruckner's Mass No. 2 gets singled out by Brough as the centrepiece of a program that also features Mark Sirett's For Music, a compendium of poetry by Byron and Shelley set to music by Sirett, as well as Ralph Vaughan Williams's Five Mystical Songs, with baritone Michael Kurschat, pianist Leanne Regehr, and the 17-piece Edmonton Symphony Winds also helping out.

"The (Bruckner) Mass is thick and rich," Brough explains. "It ranks at the height of his compositional powers. The piece is very bold and powerful, and quite beautiful."

In Every Corner Sing takes place Friday, May 29 at 8 p.m. at the West End Christian Reformed Church, 10015 149th St. Tickets are $30 for adults, $20 for students and seniors, available at Tix on the Square, 780-420-1757, or at the door.

© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal

The phone interview

One of the jobs of the Artistic Director of a choir, from time to time, is to be ready to give an interview over the phone to help in the promotion and advertisement of an upcoming concert.  This morning, that was my job.  The nice thing about this particular paper, albeit a small publication from a neighbouring town, is that I did receive forewarning about the interview.  The interviewer called last night to ask if she could call this morning at 9:30 am ... and within two minutes of 9:30, the phone rang!

In Edmonton, for the last fiver years or so, we have lost all our specialized music reviewers.  Our major paper did have one when I first moved here, but now they rely on freelance writers, or to have someone from their vast "Arts and Culture" department to do these interviews, if they feel so moved to do so.  So the same person who might be reviewing a new restaurant one day, is now in charge of previewing a classical choral music concert.

The challenge then lies with both parties.  The interviewer must be ready to ask the right questions, and the interviewee will have to be able to phrase the answers in such a way that a) the interviewer will understand, and b) the general public will also understand, and be interested enough in knowing more about the concert.  So when the question arose as to why I chose a work by Clemens Non Papa, she was less interested to hear about the complex interwoven imitative polyphonic setting, and more interested in the history of how he got the name "Clemens ... not the Pope".

I suppose after doing about a dozen interviews for this particular publication now, I should prepare the material a bit in advance for the meeting.  I often feel that I'm caught off guard on how to answer questions like "What is the focus of the concert"?  When in my mind the concert program grew from a number of non-connected, and really, non inspirational factors.

"Well, I sat down one day, with a deadline to come up with a season, and put together some pieces I really liked, tried to make ties between them, and eventually came up with The Spirit Sings! for the title for the concert, mainly because the title gives me the freedom to pick just about whatever I want as repertoire, as it covers anything "sung" and most things "sacred" or even secular music that can be thought of as internally spiritual ... then I threw in a few gospel spiritual arrangements and, presto! a concert is born" is not an answer that is going to sell tickets.

I do however think it's going to be a great concert!  That should sell a few!

Oh - and do check out our new webpage for Da Camera Singers.  It's tres chic!