A New Choral Voice

Shattering any sense of social formality that would be expected of an interview at a choral music conference, I quickly direct the conversation to Michael Zaugg’s bid for Artistic Director of Pro Coro instead of asking him about the conference.

“Oh, you’re talking about Pro Coro, not Podium!” Zaugg remarks, surprised at my conversation starter.

“I’m here to talk about you,” I state.

“O.k.!” he says with a smile as he readies himself.

In addition to his roles as the conductor of the St. Lawrence Choir in Montreal, the Cantata Singers in Ottawa, and voces boreales at the Montreal Choral Institute, over this past year Zaugg participated in a comprehensive selection process for the position of Artistic Director and Principal Conductor for Pro Coro Canada. As a Pro Coro chorister, I was able to participate in a small portion of this process and blogged about the experience. The news of Zaugg’s successful appointment as Artistic Director was welcome news not only to me but to the entire Edmonton choral community.

Composers, Conductors, and Choirs

The prospect of interviewing Lydia Adams was a formidable one. In my mind, the choral heavy weights in Canada consist of the three professional choirs in our country: The Elmer Iseler Singers, Pro Coro Canada, and the Vancouver Chamber Choir. Thus, the choral influence of each of these respective organizations is due in large part to their Artistic Directors. I knew I better not mess this up. The choral shame would be too much to bear. Adams is the conductor and Artistic Director of the Elmer Iseler Singers. She met with me following her joint concert with the Elmer Iseler Singers and the MacMillian Singers at Podium 2012, which honoured the work of Canadian composer Ruth Watson Henderson.