Mar
26

OrKidstra News: Symposium on Social Change through Music Education

By Sheilah | Published Mar 26, 2012
 

OrKidstra, The Leading Note Foundation’s music program for inner-city children, will explore and demonstrate the positive impact on children of community music-making programs during a weekend of discussions and performances on March 30, 31 and April 1. The activities are presented in partnership with the Ottawa Chamber Music Society and are built around the Ottawa residency of Venezuela’s Simón Bolívar String Quartet, which emerged from the widely recognized El Sistema program on which OrKidstra is based. A highlight of the weekend will be the Symposium on Social Harmony Through Music Education, Saturday, March 31 beginning at 9:00 A.M. at Dominion-Chalmers United Church.

The event will feature three internationally recognized experts on music programs for social change. Keynote speaker Richard Hallam will speak about his experience developing the National Plan for Music Education for England. Mr. Hallam is globally recognized for his leadership in programs that use music to bring positive change to the lives of children and youth in some of the most deprived areas of England. The symposium also features Dantes Rameau, originally from Ottawa and now recognized as a visionary for his work with the Atlanta Music Project, a non-profit after-school youth orchestra and choir program serving low-income communities in Atlanta, Georgia. Jonathan Govias, a distinguished conductor, author and speaker based in Boston, will bring his passion for working with young orchestras and the transformative power of “social music” to the discussions.

Tina Fedeski, co-owner of The Leading Note, co-founder of OrKidstra and Executive Director of The Leading Note Foundation which administers the OrKidstra program, notes “The Simón Bolívar String Quartet is a great example of the success of Venezuela’s remarkable El Sistema program and of the power of community-based music programs. The Symposium will be an excellent opportunity to share expertise, inspire educators and hopefully lead to the enhancement of elementary school music programs.”  Tina and Margaret Tobolowska, fellow co-founder and Artistic Director of OrKidstra, will speak of the many successes, lessons and challenges that they have experienced with their Ottawa program.

Hosted by CBC Radio’s Laurence Wall, the symposium will include a panel of Ottawa music educators, politicians and school board representatives in a lively discussion on the possibilities and potential of social education music programs in Ottawa. There will also be a screening of the film “Teaching the Life of Music” by filmmaker Noemi Weis, which reflects experiences of some of the OrKidstra children, many of whom are refugees.

The day-long symposium will be capped with a short concert highlighted by the world premiere of Thaw by Ottawa composer Nicholas Piper, featuring dozens of OrKidstra members together with the Simón Bolívar String Quartet. OrKidstra musicians will be spread around the Dominion-Chalmers sanctuary with Quartet members on centre stage, all skilfully conducted by the composer. The performance will begin at 5:30 P.M. and is open to all interested members of the public as well as Symposium participants, at no charge.

The Symposium is free of charge and is open to the public. Participants can find the registration form on The Leading Note Foundation’s website, where the complete schedule for the weekend is also posted. Registration is required in advance, as space is limited.  Please spread the word about what will be an amazing and inspiring few days!

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Mar
15

Top 10: Vocal Collections

By Nick | Published Mar 15, 2012
 


1. Twenty-Four Italian Songs and Arias of the 17th and 18th Centuries


Twenty-Four Italian Songs and Arias

 This classic anthology from Schirmer is an outstanding collection intended to introduce the student of singing to the bel canto style. The material in this collection comes from the early operatic repertoire and is suitable for singers both young and experienced. To better reflect the needs of modern singers, Schirmer recently published an updated edition of this collection titled Twenty-eight Italian Songs and Arias. All the original songs are included plus four new selections. The new publication also includes newly written historical information about the music and translations of the text. Each piece has been re-engraved and five different transpositions are available, with or without accompaniment CDs.


2. Arias for Soprano



 Arias for Soprano is part of Schirmer’s new operatic anthology that includes volumes for each voice type. This first volume for soprano includes many famous excerpts from the literature and is suitable for advanced students or professionals preparing for concert recitals. The book is organized chronologically and includes selections from the early 18th century to the late 20th. The focus of this book is on the repertoire for lyric soprano; singers interested in the demanding repertoire by Verdi, Wagner and the like should consider other publications while collaratura sopranos should get this companion volume. Anthologies for other voice types can be found here.


3. Teen’s Musical Theatre Collection – Young Women’s Edition



 This collection from Hal Leonard is especially intended to match the vocal abilities of young singers. The repertoire includes selections from early stage musicals of Broadway, classic films from Hollywood, and newer selections from recent stage and film productions up to the 1990s. The book is available with or without an accompaniment CD which is useful for young singers who do not have ready access to an accompanist. Guitar chords are also provided. A similar collection for men’s voices is also available.


4. 26 Italian Songs and Arias



 This outstanding collection from Alfred is a great introduction for the singer to the early operatic repertoire of the 17th and 18th centuries. The aim of the editors in preparing this volume was to present some of the famous arias of this period in editions that better reflect the style of the composer’s time rather than the styles of the editor’s time. Facsimiles of original sources are shown, historical notes about the music give contextual information, and translations of the text with pronunciation suggestions are included. Two transposition (medium-high and medium-low) are available, each with or without an accompanying CD.


5. Oratorio Anthology for Soprano



 Hal Leonard’s Oratorio Anthology for Soprano brings together classic arias from the repertoire of sacred oratorios. With selections ranging from the late 17th century (Purcell) to the late 19th century (Fauré), the book offers a wide range of styles within its 30 selections. Given his vast output of oratorio, J.S. Bach is given a full quarter of the collection. Anthologies for other voice types can be found here.


6. Best Songs Ever: 76 Great Songs (7th Edition)



 Hal Leonard’s extensive collection contains the 72 greatest songs ever written since music was invented in 1925. Represented are famous shows from Broadway, songs from Hollywood films, jazz standards, and hits from the biggest names in rock and pop. Each song is cleanly and spatiously engraved with straight-forward piano accompaniments and guitar chords. If you are looking for a hit from the 20th century, it likely will be in this collection.


7. Sing Out!: All Time and Old Time Favourites



 Sing Out! is a book produced in Markham, Ontario, for use in Ontario’s seniors’ residences. The collection includes songs that seniors would likely know pitch at low keys that should be comfortable to sing. Most represented are songs from the early 20th century with which seniors (in the 1970s when the book was produced) would have grown up. The music is arranged for simply piano accompaniment with the vocal line in the stop staff of the keyboard rather than on its own line. This feature makes Sing Out! an accessible collection for amateur players. A handbook with words only is also available for distribution to seniors residences.


8. The Best of Cole Porter



 This exciting collection brings together Cole Porter’s greatest Broadway hits and popular songs. All the standards are here including: “I Love You”, “It’s De-Lovely”, “What Is This Thing Called Love?”, and “Brush Up Your Shakespeare”. The piano doubles the vocal melody at all times making the book very useful for amateur singers and chords symbols are included for guitarists or combo playing.


9. Highlights Edition: Irish Country Songs



 This book compiles many classic arrangements of Irish folksong from the pen of Herbert Hughes, one of the prominent musicologists who studied this repertoire in the early 20th century. The book includes many favourites including: “Down by the Salley Gardens”, “Innisfree”, “The Star of the County Down”, and “The Black Ribbon-Band”. The songs are arranged for voice and piano making this collection suitable mainly for recital performance by concert singers; this is not an “urtext” edition which should instead show the songs as melodies only with variations documented. Hughes’ four volumes of Irish Country Songs , from which the present volume’s contents are collected, are analogous to folksong settings by contemporaries like Zóltan Kodály, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Benjamin Britten rather than musicological source books.


10. English Songs: Renaissance to Baroque



 Edited by Steven Stolen and Richard Walters, this volume in Hal Leonard’s Vocal Library collects favourite songs by English composers of the 16th to 18th centuries, including: Thomas Arne, Thomas Campiano, John Dowland, George Frideric Handel, and Henry Purcell. The editors have included optional ornamentation in small notes and suggested dynamics. Notes about the composers are included in the preface. This is a straight-forward songbook for the student of singing who is seeking a good introduction to this repertoire. The collection is available for high or low voice, either with or without an accompanying CD.

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Feb
27

Job Listing: Musica Viva Singers

By Sheilah | Published Feb 27, 2012
 

As a service to Ottawa’s music community, we will post job and audition notices here on The Leading Note blog.  We are pretty “in-tune” (pun intended) with the ins and outs of  the Ottawa classical music scene but if you know of a vacancy, please let us know about it at info@leadingnote.com.  Please note that we may not be able to post all the listings that we receive but we’ll do our best!

One such announcement was made earlier this month – Musica Viva Singers, an enthusiastic SATB community choir, is looking for a new director for its 2012-2013 season after the departure at the end of this season of their current director (and Leading Note regular) Marg Stubington.  See all the details here.  The deadline for applications is March 17th.  Best of luck to all that apply!

Posted in Choral Music, Community News | Leave a comment
 

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