Raising Up Voices

Sharp-eyed Calgary Philharmonic Chorus fans have likely spotted a few fresh faces in the Choir Loft this season. Making their debut at season opener Carmina Burana and also performing at November’s Sci-Fi Spectacular and this past January’s Mozart’s Birthday Party concerts were the first participants in the Calgary Phil’s Youth Choristers program.

This new initiative sees a cohort of aspiring musical leaders from high schools in-and-around Calgary joining the Chorus for the concert season. The intent is to complement and give back to the high school music program and community of each participating student. The Youth Choristers learn about leadership and collaboration as they refine skills in vocal production, singing in various languages, and in expressive communication, all while observing professional conducting technique and rehearsal strategies.

Among the inaugural group of Youth Choristers is grade 11 St. Francis High School student Betty Liu. Music has been a part of Liu’s life from the get-go. At five she began to learn both piano and guzheng, a Chinese plucked zither, which she continues to play along with her mother in a duo called B.beats Music. Later, Liu also studied flute and saxophone and took up choir at school last year. When she learned of the Youth Choristers program through her music teacher, Liu jumped at the opportunity. Now having passed the midway point in the season, she says the experience has afforded her invaluable knowledge and experience.

“From a technical point of view, I’ve learned a lot about choral music, such as the pronunciation of vowels and consonants. I also like working with music from different genres and time periods,” she says. “Dr. Bartel does an excellent job of rehearsing in a way that you can learn the most in a short amount of time, and so I’ve learned how to more effectively practice my piece. I’ve also learned the importance of time management — sometimes the performances are close together, such as when we had Carmina Burana and Sci-Fi Spectacular [this past fall]”.

Such feedback should be music to the ears of Chorus Director Mark Bartel. He says the seeds of the program were planted a few years ago when a group of high school boys auditioned for the Chorus on their own volition. Though they landed spots in the Chorus roster, after several seasons they all moved on, as young people embarking on new adventures tend to do. Bartel wanted to introduce a more formal outreach structure in which musically minded high school students are invited to audition each season following a referral from the music teacher or school.

“I would say that the Calgary Phil is basically about two things: music and education,” says Bartel. “I pitched the program to the Education and Outreach team as a way for the Chorus to fully become a part of that equation. Okay, we perform. That’s obvious. That’s what the Chorus does. But how in an actual targeted way are we contributing to the educational goals of the orchestra or the organization? That was really the main reason for it.”

And what an educational opportunity it is. The Calgary Philharmonic Chorus is one of only two choruses in Canada that are part of a professional symphony orchestra. In a typical season it is featured in four to eight concerts — five in total for the current season — and the Youth Choristers perform in all of these and attend weekly rehearsals. Bartel emphasizes that the program is reserved for “talented and ambitious” musical students who are part of their school’s choral program and who have been referred by their teacher. If they meet these criteria, they are then invited to audition for the four to eight available spots.

“This provides an opportunity for that student to give back to their high school choir in what are they learning with the Chorus,” says Bartel. “Not that they have to go back and announce it, but they will automatically be carrying their learning back into the high school program.”

According to another of this season’s Youth Choristers, Pearson Berko, that sentiment very much aligns with his experience.

“[Mark Bartel] is a super good director and conductor, and he provides a lot of useful information for me that I can apply to my other choirs and my other singing. It’s been very useful, and it has definitely given me a lot of confidence in my singing.”

Like Liu, Berko is a great fit for the program. A grade 12 student at St John Choir Schola, which has a primary focus on the choral tradition, he also performs with the Calgary Children’s Choir and comes from a family of choristers. Both of his parents have experience directing choirs, and his aunt, Barbara Soles, performs in the Calgary Philharmonic Chorus. Despite his already-considerable experience, though, Berko hasn’t been immune to the occasional teenage concern arising when it comes to performing with a professional chorus.

“I was a bit nervous going into the first concert. I had a lot of family there. I think my biggest concern was looking out of place because all the guys around me were way taller than me. I was the shortest one in the tenor and basses, I think.”

He says it all worked out in the end thanks to the support and encouragement of both Bartel and the regular choristers. On that note, he shares a piece of advice for future program hopefuls: “Don’t be scared of Mark. He seems scary but he’s actually a really nice guy. And, if you go for an audition and you mess up, it won’t be the end of the world.”

Liu also has words of encouragement for future chorister candidates: “Try to practice sight singing as well as singing back a melody, because they do test that in the audition. Also maybe attend a rehearsal so that you can experience how it might go. And stay confident and positive!”

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