Capital Vox Jazz Choir Concert! - We Live Here

We Live Here

Saturday April 30, 2011 at 7:30 PM

Knox Presbyterian Church

120 Lisgar Street at Elgin, Ottawa

Tickets $20

available at The Leading Note, Wellington Herb & Spice, Alcorn Music Studios, & choir members
www.capitalvox.ca

Nous Vivons Ici

Samedi le 30 avril 2011 à 19h30

Église presbytérienne Knox 

120 rue Lisgar, coin Elgin, à Ottawa

Billets $20; disponibles chez The Leading Note, Herb & Spice (rue Wellington), Alcorn Music Studios & des membres de la chorale
www.capitalvox.ca

Join us for our upcoming concert which deals with themes of place, peace, and community - as well as celebrating the talent of composers, poets, and songwriters who live in our own backyard. The creative work of fifteen Ottawa artists including John Akpata, Tim Bedner, Tony Cosier, Christine Fagan, Mark Ferguson, Megan Jerome, Elise Letourneau, Rupinder Singh, Nicola Vulpe, and others will be represented on the programme. Thirty voices under the direction of Elise Letourneau, plus saxophonist Mike Tremblay, pianist Mark Ferguson, guitarist Tim Bedner, bassist Mark Alcorn, and drummer Marilee Townsend.

Joignez-vous à nous lors de notre prochain concert qui traite du lieu, de paix et de communauté et célèbre le talent de compositeurs, de poètes et d'auteurs-compositeurs venant de notre propre cour. Le travail créatif de quinze artistes d'Ottawa, incluant John Akpata, Tim Bedner, Tony Cosier, Christine Fagan, Mark Ferguson, Megan Jerome, Elise Letourneau, Rupinder Singh, Nicola Vulpe et d'autres encore sera au programme. Trente voix s'exécuteront, sous la direction d'Elise Letourneau, accompagnées du saxophonist Mike Tremblay, du pianiste Mark Ferguson, du guitariste Tim Bedner, du bassiste Mark Alcorn et de Marilee Townsend à la batterie.

Summer 2011 Jazz Camp Tuition Scholarship for Singers!

Vocal Scholarship to Carleton University Jazz Camp
August 7-12, 2011

sponsored by Capital Vox Jazz Choir

Open to high school singers in grades 11 & 12

Send us the following:

- an MP3 CD recording of you singing something you love - a cappella or accompanied

- a statement of why you want to go to jazz camp - one page maximum

- a description of your music background - one page maximum

- the form below

All materials must be received by Friday May 20. Your submission will be reviewed by a panel of Capital Vox singers, including the director. Semi-finalists will be asked to audition live before the panel, and will be notified by May 23. The scholarship winner must agree to perform at one of the choir’s concerts during the 2011-12 concert season. The finalist will be notified by mid-June. Capital Vox reserves the right to not award a scholarship in the unlikely event that there are no qualified applicants.

Mail your application to: Capital Vox Jazz Choir, P.O. Box 681, Station B, Ottawa ON  K1P 5P8

Application form may be downloaded here.

For more information about the Carleton University Jazz Camp: www.cujazzcamp.ca

For more information about Capital Vox Jazz Choir: www.capitalvox.ca

Off to See the Wizards (JW & VCC) Part2

Winnipeg and Jon Washburn and the Vancouver Chamber Choir were really something.


More on that in a sec though, after a quick digression. I got to watch a bit of hotel-room TV, and there's something that's been bugging me since Thursday. This is a message for BECKY who was on Dr. Phil on Thursday March 3, 2011. Becky, I'm glad you got all that support from Dr. Phil, because you deserve good support. But there's one thing he didn't say, so I'm gonna say it: 


BECKY - JUST SING, OKAY? DO IT NOW. THERE IS NEVER A GOOD REASON TO DEFER SINGING. PLEASE DO NOT WAIT UNTIL YOU HAVE ACHIEVED YOUR GOAL WEIGHT BEFORE YOU GO OUT AND SING. LIFE IS TOO SHORT. YOU DESERVE TO SING, THE WORLD CAN USE ONE MORE SINGER, AND YOU ARE ALREADY BEAUTIFUL. GET OUT THERE AND SING NOW. DON'T WAIT ONE MORE SINGLE DAY. DO IT TODAY.


Okay, back to the Interplay Composers' sessions.


A real nice bunch of folks, Jon Washburn and the Vancouver Chamber Choir. It's always a treat to have the opportunity to watch a master at work, and every single one of Jon Washburn's singers had their head fully focused on the music. Accomplished, talented, smart, and all the rest. If you spilled a jar of poppy seeds onto a paper towel, these people could sight-sing it. I went in mentally prepared for the artistic scalpel, because at this stage of the game nobody's got time for warm fuzzies. And I got a lot of really excellent and valuable feedback, but rather than being the musical excision kind of feedback that I had anticipated, it was more grooming and polishing things as they already were. A pleasant surprise, to say the least. It's always a special type of moment the first sing through a new score, when you find out if what you put onto the paper ends up being what comes off of it - or not. There was this really cool moment early in the session when I realized that things had clicked with Jon Washburn and my piece, and it was so instructional to watch how he brought the choir to that same place. I came out with so many ideas, and I'm still riding a crest of renewed creative energy that is infusing my writing since my return from Winnipeg.


Thank-you so much, Jon Washburn and VCC!

Off to See the Wizards (JW & VCC) Part1

Well, today's the day!


In about an hour (Winnipeg time), I leave my hotel room and head for the music building at the University of Manitoba to meet up with the Vancouver Chamber Choir, their director Jon Washburn, two other composers I'm looking forward to meeting, and whoever else happens to be around and interested.


The VCC is "workshopping" a piece I wrote earlier this year - "i carry your heart with me" - based on e.e. cummings' poem of the same title. Which means they will read it down and pick it apart and see what's working well and what isn't really working at all - kind of a laboratory setting. Or at least that's what I think it means - I'll find out soon enough. I feel so incredibly lucky because the piece is for double choir (plus jazz trio), and it would be quite a job for me to put together an ensemble like this to explore the work. It's doubly nice because the work is intended as a series of four pieces, and I'm getting this opportunity and feedback now, before I write the other three.


Wow - it feels like Christmas. And I feel so hyper! Gotta get ready to roll.

An Ode to the Uvula

The Uvula. If I admit to a certain amount of fascination with it, am I going on the public record as some kind of fetishist or something?


Most of us have seen cartoon representations of the uvula, even if we didn't know its proper name at the time. It is the small bit of tissue that hangs off the back end of the soft palate, that wobbles back and forth when a cartoon character is hollering.


And for some singers, depending on their training, the uvula has indicated the presence of a well-engaged diaphragm, swinging forwards and back with each mindful "ha" exhalation in front of a mirror.


It has occurred to me, however, that if Nature intended a purpose for the uvula beyond storyboarding and bel canto, then I am in the dark about it. So I thought I'd do a little research...


It turns out that the uvula isn't just hanging out. The uvula plays an important role in articulating the sounds we make into sounds recognizable as speech, functioning in tandem with the back of the throat, the palate, and air coming up from the lungs.


If that wasn't enough, as a distinct bonus the uvula also has an important function in swallowing. The uvula and soft palate work as a team, moving upwards together to close off the nasopharynx, sparing us the indignity of having our soup dribble back out our nose when dining out.


I'm glad I took the time to read up a little more on the uvula. I am now reassured that my fascination with the uvula is neither the first, nor the worst. Apparently it is possible to have one's uvula pierced, with the captive bead ring as the jewelry of choice. I won't be signing up for that any time soon though - manipulation of the uvula also triggers the gag reflex, and I try to avoid regurgitating as much as possible.


(If obtaining an uvula piercing is something that appeals to you, please take the time to do your own research. There are several inherent risks, including inhaling your jewelry, and if you do that then you're in for some emergency surgery. And please find someone who really knows what they are doing - for both the piercing and the surgery that is.)


If you happen to find yourself in a discussion of the uvula at your next cocktail party, be sure to specify "the palatine uvula". You'll not only sound smarter, but you'll also stay on familiar turf. Apparently both the cerebellum and the urinary bladder have uvulas of their own, equally worthy I'm sure, but beyond the scope of this blog posting.


So there it is - the daily contributions to the quality of our lives of the humble uvula. Who knew? Give me a U....


Okay okay I'll knock it off. But take good care of your uvula and it will take good care of you. Seriously - overdoing some of our most common vices (smoking, alcohol, street drugs) can lead to swelling of the uvula. But there are also more pedestrian causes for this, like dehydration or infection. I've read that ice cream is soothing for this, if it happens to you. But more chronic enlargement of the uvula can lead to snoring or sleep apnea. And people who have uvulitis triggered by allergies often have to resort to an EpiPen, without the benefit of ice cream.

Jazz Choir concert! - Capital Vox Gets the Blues

Capital Vox Gets The Blues at NAC, Feb 25 & 26:

Capital Vox Jazz Choir, under the direction of Elise Letourneau, will be presenting "Capital Vox Gets The Blues" at the National Arts Centre 4th Stage for two evenings on February 25 & 26, 2011. The 30-voice choir will perform a mix of blues and blues-infused music in a variety of settings and textures with the venerable Brian Browne assuming the piano seat, Mike Tremblay on saxophones, guitarist Tim Bedner, bassist Mark Alcorn, and drummer Marilee Townsend. Listeners can look forward to a spirited romp through 50+ years of classic blues music, big vocals, and indomitable groove-making.

Capital Vox Jazz Choir was formed as a community choir to explore the works of classic jazz composers, as well as standards old and new, in a large group vocal setting. It also seeks to present music by Canadian jazz composers and expand the existing body of Canadian jazz choral repertoire; as well as recast traditional music in a new, jazzy light. The choir membership seeks continual growth in vocal, improvisational, and musicianship skills; culminating in quality music-making and concert performances.

Concert begins at 7:30 PM, and doors open at 7 PM. All are welcome. Tickets are $20, available from the NAC box office or Ticketmaster. Please visit www.capitalvox.ca for more information about Capital Vox Jazz Choir.

Pinch Me- I Have a Date with Jon Washburn

I must be dreaming.


I spend a lot of time writing music. Some people who know me think I write obsessively and possibly to the exclusion of other things that are important. To whom I concede they might have a valid point. But I don't see how else this stuff going to get written.


In early January it occurred to me to write a piece for double choir. Climbing a mountain because it was there I suppose - there was no specific reason. And I loved the process. It was like having the big box of 200 crayons, and no choral texture seemed impossible. When I was about three-quarters done, I came across a posting about Jon Washburn and the Vancouver Chamber Choir inviting composers to send in their work to be considered for their Interplay programme. I decided to get it finished up and sent it in. I figured it was a great chance to have the eyeballs of Jon Washburn on a score of mine for, say 30-45 seconds, before he took a pass and moved on to the next score in the pile.


I was completely gobsmacked when I received an email saying that mine was one of three scores selected for the Winnipeg sessions, and would I please confirm my participation.


I said yes immediately - it was a no-brainer. Though I admit I waited a few days to make my travel arrangements, some part of me convinced there would be a subsequent email apologizing for their mistake. But instead, the subsequent email said there wouldn't be any major changes needed at this point and to go ahead and make 25 copies of the score. Which also blows me away, because if Jon Washburn had asked me to rewrite the entire score, I would have.


So in 10 days I'm off to Winnipeg, with 25 copies of a score to music that did not exist 8 weeks ago. With the opportunity to have my composition workshopped and critiqued and dissected and reconstructed by people who are at the top of their game. It's going to be like going back to school!


By way of introduction to the uninitiated, the Vancouver Chamber Choir is one of two or three (for sure less than a handful) Canadian professional choirs - i.e. every chorister is paid - and Jon Washburn is their conductor and artistic director. In today's non-profit arts market, this is not insignificant. It represents 40 years of sweat and dedication on the part of a lot of people.


I am a very lucky gal to benefit in this way. I could never buy an experience like this. It is lovely that they do this, but more importantly it is a measure of their character that they choose to share the fruits of the deserved success of their many years of labour by creating opportunities like this for other Canadian artists.


You can help Jon Washburn and the Vancouver Chamber Choir keep doing what they do. Visit their website at www.vancouverchamberchoir.com when you get a moment. Purchase one of their CD's as a gift to yourself or a friend who loves choral music. If they come to your town on one of their tours, go to their concert. These people are as good as it gets.


That said, it's also important to support your local choirs. But that's a subject I'll save for another post.


Elise