What do you demand of your students?

On Facebook I'd re-posted this:

This got quite a few responses (as you might imagine!), but Brian Dohe, a former student at PLU said, "For students who fail to memorize the German text of Brahms' Liebeslieder Waltzes . . . "

That got me thinking about how much I asked of students at that time. The Brahms happened because two wonderful pianists (sisters: Robin and Rochelle McCabe) were booked to do the Artist Series at PLU. I contacted Robin and asked if they'd be willing to do the Brahms on the program with the Choir of the West. Robin said yes, so we programmed that . . . and I thought the music would make the best impact if we sang from memory . . . so we did.

That same semester (1985, so a big anniversary year for Bach, Handel, Schütz) we did the Bach Mass in B Minor with the professional NW Chamber Orchestra. And in January we did our tour program, which we also did at the PNW Bach Festival in Spokane, along with Bach's cantata #50.

And that fall on the Christmas program we sang the Poulenc Gloria.

So the rep that year was:
- usual carols plus Poulenc Gloria
- a tour program:
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Die mit tränen säen................................................................................................. Schütz

Der Zwölfjährige Jesus im Tempel

Komm, Jesu, Komm............................................................................................ J.S. Bach

Come Mighty Father............................................................................................ Handel

Draw the Tear

How Excellent Thy Name

(each of the Handel anthems with a student chamber orchestra)

Libera me...................................................................................................... Lajos Bardos

Schaffe in mir, Gott (Op. 29, no. 2)..................................................................... Brahms

Trois Chansons.................................................................................................... Debussy

- Brahms - Liebeslieder Walzer
- Bach - Mass in B Minor

And the tour program would have been sung from memory as well.

After posting this on Facebook, another former student, Joe Pettit, replied, "We were students. We thought it was normal. Looking back . . .  sheesh."

Helmuth Rilling--transitions

In 1972 I went to Eugene, Oregon to study at a fledgling Bach festival (founded in 1970) with a conductor whose work I knew through recordings and an experience in 1971 in Stuttgart following a choir tour in Europe (more about that here).

The primary work performed at the festival that year was Bach's great Mass in B Minor and it was a mountaintop experience for me. I was able to conduct the mass myself for the first time in 1975, just before I turned 25, and my interpretation and approach at that time owed much to Rilling--of course I learned many other significant lessons from him that summer.

So, now in 2013--41 years later!--I was able to come back to Eugene for Rilling's swan song as Artistic Director of the Bach Festival he co-founded with Royce Salzman in 1970 (Rilling will remain Music Director Emeritus and be back to conduct, although Matthew Halls, who's been Music Director Designate for three years now, will take over main duties. I was able to attend a public interview with Halls and he's most impressive--the festival is in very good hands). 44 years at the head of a festival such as the OBF is an amazing tenure.

And what work was performed as the finale but Bach's B Minor Mass, of course! It was a joy to watch Rilling, at age 80, do this work, which he's conducted thousands of times by now. A picture from the post-concert bows (a well-deserved standing ovation which went on a long time):

 

This led me to reflect on several significant transitions for me as well, connected with the "3"s.

40 years ago, in 1973, I founded what would become Seattle Pro Musica. It started with a chamber choir and in the 2nd year I began an ensemble devoted to performing Bach cantatas once a month (it was at the end of that year, when I combined the chamber choir and the Bach Ensemble for that 1975 performance of the Mass in B Minor, that Pro Musica was officially incorporated). The Bach Ensemble itself was directly inspired by watching Rilling lead a Kantat-Fest weekend at the Gedäctniskirche in Stuttgart in 1971. As I've stated before, my work with Seattle Pro Musica was the beginning of my real post-graduate education and formed me as a conductor.

Then, 30 years ago this coming fall, in 1983, I became Director of Choral Activities and conductor of the Choir of the West at Pacific Lutheran University, my most significant education to learn what it is to be a teacher (I would spend 18 years in that position).

And 20 years ago, in January of 1993, I formed what would become Choral Arts for a concert in Seattle with renowned Swedish conductor Eric Ericson. Ericson was an enormous influence for me, of course, as you will find if you look to the right at the number of posts on this blog that connect to him, Sweden (and many other Swedish conductors) and the Swedish Radio Choir. Again, Choral Arts was a huge part of my post-graduate education and allowed me to conduct many works I couldn't have approached in any other way (or with any other ensemble).

Not all major transitions for me have happened in years ending with 3's, but those turning points 4, 3, and 2 decades ago were among the most significant for me professionally.

My huge thanks to Helmuth Rilling for inspiring me and so many others.

Interesting time (and memories!) visiting WA state

I had a great time visiting friends and family in Washington state the past three weeks. The impetus was my former choral group, Choral Arts, beginning a commissioning project in my name--a great honor, I think!

The initial work was by Eric Barnum, Sing in the Dark Times, and it was magnificent. Thanks to Robert Bode, the choir and board for making this possible!

Below, me, Robert and Eric from the reception following the concert:

17 of the 26 singers had sung with me, not so much a tribute to me, but to Robert and the work he's done with the choir.

The week was full of memories and connections.

The night we arrived, we went to a concert by the Choir of the West under Richard Nance, my good friend and colleague, who's now Director of Choral Activities at PLU. They sang wonderfully, just before leaving for their European tour. I was DCA at PLU and conductor of the Choir of the West from 1983-2001.

The next night was the Seattle Opera's production of Magic Flute, which we attended since John Tessier, a friend and soloist with Pro Coro Canada, was singing Tamino. A beautiful performance by John and it was nice to chat with him backstage afterwards. He'll sing in Dallas this coming season, so we hope to get him out to UNT for a masterclass.

However, in the lobby we also saw Karen Thomas, conductor of Seattle Pro Musica, who's done such a great job with a group I founded in 1973.

Interesting timing in my life: began my first choral group (SPM) in 1973, came to teach at PLU in 1983, and founded Choral Arts in 1993--in 2013 that will mean  40 years since founding Seattle Pro Musica, 30 years since I came to PLU, and 20 years since I founded Choral Arts! Not too bad . . .


Other memories as well, of course. It's the 10th anniversary of when I left PLU and also the 10th of the tragic death of my close friend, James Holloway. Jim was a brilliant musician (pianist, organist, conductor), raconteur, cook, and much else. Jim and I worked together even before he taught at PLU, he accompanied Choral Arts many times, played and stood for me in our wedding (a close friend of Kathryn as well, in a sense he introduced us), and came to Hungary with us just after we were married in 1996 to play the Bernstein Chichester Psalms and work as accompanist with me during a "Singing Week" in Veszprem--yet another eerie connection on this trip was that the third movement of Chichester was on the Choral Arts program. Jim was murdered just the day after my last big performance at PLU, the Verdi Requiem, and just before I'd take the choir on my final tour at PLU, to Scandinavia.

Most of the memories, however were good ones,  and the ones listed above are just a small part of the memories evoked during this trip. I can't begin to list all the friends and family we were able to see, but it was a great time.

I've been blessed!