Arts Touring Alliance of Alberta
Dedicated to the maintenance, development and growth of a strong touring arts industry in Alberta
Journey to the land of folklore, meeting mystical saints and familiar fairy figures. From spiritual to magical, from Canadian forests to fallen ruins in Far East mountains, to the rugged shores of the British Isles, this program will send you on a musical exploration of new sonorities. Our concert will feature an eclectic selection of a cappella music by British composers Joby Talbot and Benjamin Britten, and Latvians Ēriks Ešenvalds and Uģis Prauliņš.
Inspired by the Latin Mass, our annual series explores the multitudes of expression of faith through musical works. Over the years, our featured compositions have become larger, and for the fifth edition we’re including I Coristi (Rob Curtis, director). The full feature Missa Signum Magnum by Latvian Rihards Dubrah requires a large choir divided into five groups dispersed through the performance venue, the ultimate surround-sound experience
Counted among the top ten sacred masterworks, Ein Deutsches Requiem will enshroud you with a breadth of emotions. Brahms himself envisioned his work to be a ‘Human Requiem’, not for the dead but for the living left behind. The master himself created the version for piano and four hands for a performance in 1871 in the British capital, which then became the ‘London Version’ that you will hear at this annual Good Friday concert.
Guest soloists:
Jolaine Kerley, soprano
Alexander Dobson, baritone
Leanne Regehr and Roger Admiral, piano
When our Artistic Director Michael Zaugg began his tenure, he introduced us to an eclectic array of fascinating new works, including The Nightingale, a stand-out composition by Grammy nominated Uģis Prauliņš. This virtuoso work for recorder quartet and 20 part choir will be the highlight of the program. Our guest is Flûte Alors!, the only professional recorder quartet in Canada. This unique combination of instruments and voices has inspired new Canadian works which will also be featured on the program.
Humour will infuse our annual all-male production with music by Veljo Tormis, Felix Mendelssohn and Gioachino Rossini. Particularly playful works are Rondes by Swede Folke Rabe, and Finn Jaakko Mäntyjärvi’s Pseudo-Yoik. This event wouldn’t be complete without an a cappella homage to the popular music of the last century; this year we’ll dive into the 1980s with our guests the Axios Men`s Ensemble.
Out with the old, in with the new: celebrate New Year’s Eve with Pro Coro Canada! A novel tradition begins with choral works that speak to the passing of time and rebirth. Enjoy a glass of bubbly at intermission, and then join in the singing as we all make reverence to the past year and fête the next.
Now an annual tradition, Pro Coro Canada’s ConSept presents David Lang’s spare yet incredibly fulfilling Little Match Girl Passion. This one-hour candlelight performance showcases a quartet of singers who will take you on the heart-wrenching but hopeful journey of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Match Girl.
In honour of the Canadians who participated in the historical battle of Vimy Ridge in 1917, this concert will serve as a musical memorial with music by Ola Gjeilo, Paul Mealor, Johannes Brahms and Canadian Jocelyn Morlock. In collaboration with the John Armitage Memorial Trust (UK), the choir will present an elegiac new work for choir and cello jointly written by Canadian Stuart Beatch and Scott Thomas Harrold, with a libretto by Welsh poet Grahame Davies and performed with special guest, Rafael Hoekman, cello.
Great poetry inspires great music! Join us for an exploration of works by Benjamin Britten, Lars Johan Werle and Ralph Vaughan Williams as they interpret texts by William Shakespeare, Gerald Manley Hopkins, e e cummings, and Arthur Stringer. You will also hear how a new generation of Canadian composers approach these significant poets.