News

  • A community in harmony dazzles Niagara audiences

    Tuesday, November 12, 2024 | By

    Performers of Verdi's Requiem on stage at Partridge Hall.

    Image caption: The Brock University Choir shared the spotlight with powerhouse arts organizations Chorus Niagara and Niagara Symphony Orchestra for a memorable performance of Verdi’s Requiem at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines on Nov. 3.

    Tuesday, November 12, 2024 | by 

    Concertgoers were recently brought to their feet by a powerful collaborative performance of Verdi’s Requiem.

    Chorus Niagara, with support from the Brock University Choir (BUC) and Niagara Symphony Orchestra (NSO), performed the musical masterpiece to a packed house at FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre (FOPAC) on Nov. 3.

    Rachel Rensink-Hoff, Associate Professor of Music and Conductor of BUC, which is comprised of students from across campus, said the concert was not only a valuable performance experience, but also represented an important opportunity for Brock to deepen its community connections through the arts.

    “Chorus Niagara welcomed us all so warmly and the concert was an unforgettable experience that I know will resonate with choir members for a long time,” she said.

    Famous for its compelling, theatrical mood, Verdi’s Requiem brings together vocal soloists, a chorus and full orchestra to deliver a dynamic and powerful performance.

    Musical works of this scope demand a large force of players and singers that can only be realized through collaboration, Rensink-Hoff said.

    “We could not have performed this piece on our own and are grateful for the opportunity to engage with such an iconic choral masterpiece,” she said.

    Artistic Director of Chorus Niagara Robert Cooper echoed this sentiment, adding he hoped the experience of sharing the stage with professional singers and musicians will prove formative for Brock students as they pursue varied career paths.

    “Working with conductor Rachel Rensink-Hoff and the Brock University Choir was a choral collaboration coup,” he said. “The singers’ abundant vocal vitality, infectious enthusiasm, disciplined musicality and always professional presence assured a peak performance of Verdi’s monumental Requiem.”

    Beyond the success of the performance, Rensink-Hoff also affirmed the importance of working alongside area arts organizations to help students build bridges with the community and make connections in the professional world.

    “An experience such as this shows aspiring musicians and artists not only what it takes to mount a significant production, but the power of creative collaboration between groups to foster a sense of community and togetherness through music — this is why we do what we do,” Rensink-Hoff said.

    The Department of Music will take the stage at FOPAC again in a series of instrumental ensemble performances beginning in late November.

    On Wednesday, Nov. 27, Conductor George Cleland will lead the Brock University String Orchestra in From the Heart featuring music by Bach, Mozart, Grieg, Puccini and Anderson.

    Brock Big Band will delight audiences with Big Band Extravaganza led by Conductor Zoltan Kalman on Monday, Dec. 2, followed by a performance with a “night at the cinema” theme, Movie Night, from the Brock University Wind Ensemble on Tuesday, Dec. 3.

    Tickets for all performances can be purchased through the FOPAC Box Office.

     

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    Categories: Current Students, Events, Faculty & Instructors, Special Events

  • Embracing music’s healing powers

    Friday, June 14, 2024 | By

    Photograph of Samantha Bowman wearing graduation robe at Spring Convocation 2024

    Image Caption: Samantha Bowman (BMus ’24) discovered her passion for using music to treat illness through her Bachelor of Music with a concentration in Music Therapy at Brock’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts.

    FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 2024 | by 

    Guiding people on a journey of healing through music — especially those facing mental health struggles — was something Samantha Bowman (BMus ’24) knew in her heart she always wanted to do.

    On Friday, June 14, Bowman walked across the stage during Brock University’s 115th Convocation and became one step closer to achieving her dream of helping people through music therapy.

    Bowman’s path to earning a Bachelor of Music with a Concentration in Music Therapy Foundations came with many unexpected turns, such as applying to — and dropping out of — several post-secondary programs that were not a good fit.

    When she eventually received a mental health diagnosis for depression, her life completely changed.

    “I had been living with depression for a long time, but not known it. Suddenly, everything clicked into place,” she said.

    Bowman knew that music was going to be an important part of her path forward.

    As a vocalist, however, encountering an injury to her instrument — her voice — was not in the plan.

    Bowman decided that while singing would always be part of her music practice, she would shift her professional interests toward becoming a mental health professional that works with music therapy.

    When she was accepted into Brock’s Department of Music at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA), she immediately felt that she was supported and set up for success in her chosen field.

    “When you are learning in a safe and supportive space, you just thrive,” Bowman said. “Your best comes out and that’s what I felt at Brock, I was fostering the best version of myself.”

    Karin Di Bella, Associate Professor and Chair of Music at Brock, said students sometimes start in programs because that is what they feel they should do, or that others want them to do. If it’s not something that truly interests them, however, they may struggle.

    “When students come into a program that lights them up, they then succeed —  not because our program is easy, but because they are deeply invested,” Di Bella said. “Sam beautifully exemplifies this transformation and has excelled in our program.”

    Through her studies in the Music in Community course, Bowman worked with a local organization called Major Progressions Music Therapy, which provides music therapy to residents of long-term care in the Niagara region. During the course, she completed a practicum placement which she said was “transformative.”

    “It is difficult to get elderly people living with Alzheimer’s or dementia to want to get up, especially if they have chronic pain, too,” Bowman said.

    During her placement she was able to assist with using music, in conjunction with other types of care, such as physiotherapy, to help those long-term residents manage their conditions.

    Bowman also observed long-term care residents, who were non-verbal and struggling with cognition, listen to old songs they could recall the words to, which sparked joy and connection.

    Bowman said her “life has been healed” because of her own ongoing therapeutic journey and “having the chance to be a part of somebody else’s journey through music” meant the world to her.

    Thanks to her success at Brock, Bowman has now been accepted into Wilfred Laurier’s highly competitive Master of Music Therapy program, which only accepts 10 to 15 students out of the hundreds that apply.

    “Nearly 10 years after I began my post-secondary education, I am now pursuing my dream career thanks to the support and skills I gained at Brock,” she said.

    Looking to the future and motivated by her own experience, the aspiring music therapist aims to focus on mental health research and how music can alleviate suffering.

     

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    Categories: Alumni, Alumni, News

  • Teaching award recipient inspires through music education

    Friday, June 14, 2024 | By

    Photograph of Rachel Rensink-Hoff delivering speech at Spring 2024 convocation.

    Image caption: Associate Professor of Music Rachel Rensink-Hoff addressed Brock’s newest graduates on Friday, June 14 during the University’s 115th Convocation. Rensink-Hoff received the Faculty of Humanities’ 2024 Excellence in Teaching Award.

    FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 2024 | by 

    “Life is long.”

    Using these three simple but impactful words of poet T.S. Eliot, Rachel Rensink-Hoff hoped to inspire Brock’s graduating class to reflect on their experiences and take in the world around them.

    “Give yourself permission to dwell in the length of life, and do this by resisting pressures, graduates, to take shortcuts, to give up, to make hurried choices or choose the path of least resistance,” the Associate Professor of Music said during her Convocation address on Friday, June 14. “Instead, relish in surprising connections. Enjoy the subtle shades of colour and the interesting shapes around you. Take the time to observe every single little detail.”

    It is an idea that has been important to her life and work, she told graduates from the Faculties of Humanities and Mathematics and Science.

    Rensink-Hoff received the Faculty of Humanities’ 2024 Excellence in Teaching Award in recognition for her dedication to supporting students on their academic and creative paths.

    Reflecting on the honour before Brock’s Convocation celebrations, she said the most rewarding thing about teaching music is when students let go of their inhibitions and take risks.

    “There is an energy that fills a room when one student, then two, then more, dare to try new things — it has an inspiring ripple effect. I feel I’ve done my part as an educator and conductor if I’ve made space for this to happen,” she said.

    The biggest source of joy for Rensink-Hoff is when students take ownership of the creative process.

    “In rehearsal or the classroom, teaching and learning depends on the willingness of students to encourage and mentor one another. When this happens naturally, then I know I’ve done my job,” she said.

    At the core of Rensink-Hoff’s teaching philosophy is a commitment to educating the whole person, seeking to accommodate the diversity of musical experience and motivation among those she teaches.

    This helps her develop an approach to teaching that is both inclusive and rigorous, striving to help all students and singers to discover their full potential regardless of their musical background or ability.

    How people learn music, the kind of music they interact with and the advancement of digital forms of music creation translate into a wide range of musical skills and identities shaped by one’s exposure to music, family and social influences, and cultural environments, she said.

    “The prospective music student of the 21st century looks very different than was historically deemed ‘suitable’ or  ‘eligible’ for a music degree program,” she said. “As music educators, it is incumbent upon us to diversify approaches and the musical content we interact with, all with the goal of better representing the incredibly rich and diverse tapestry of global music traditions beyond the historically favoured Western canon.”

    Her research and creative work focuses on three elements of well-being: being, belonging and becoming. Through these lenses, she explores how engagement with music supports all aspects of humanity from the physical to the social to the psychological and spiritual.

    “I feel strongly about the profound impact that group singing and musical skill development can have on one’s health and sense of well-being across the lifespan,” she said.

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    Categories: Events, Faculty & Instructors

  • Brock events to explore science behind what draws people to music

    Wednesday, September 06, 2023 | By

    A portrait headshot of Susan Rogers.

    Caption: Susan Rogers, a professor of cognitive neuroscience in the Music Production and Engineering Department at Berklee College of Music, will be presenting The Music of Listening at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre on Tuesday, Oct. 24. (Photo credit: Sharona Jacobs)

    WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 06, 2023 | by

    Whether its rhythm causes an unconscious sway or its lyrics evoke a swell of emotion, a song can strike a different chord from one set of ears to another.

    A series of upcoming Brock University academic and general interest talks aim to unpack the science behind what drives people to love and connect with the music that they do.

    Susan Rogers, a professor of cognitive neuroscience in the Music Production and Engineering Department at Berklee College of Music, will discuss music cognition and perception, and why individuals are attracted to the types of music they listen to.

    In addition to sharing her academic knowledge of neuroscience and how it relates to listening to music, Rogers will share her experiences as an accomplished sound engineer and record producer for musicians such as Prince, David Byrne and Barenaked Ladies.

    Three events are set to take place next month, presented by Brock’s Faculty of Mathematics and Science and the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts in collaboration with the FirstOntario Performing Art Centre in downtown St. Catharines.

    The largest event, The Music of Listening, will take place Tuesday, Oct. 24 from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre. Open to the Brock and wider community, it will include a book signing for Rogers’ latest book, This Is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You, co-authored with Ogi Ogas. Tickets for the event are available through the art centre’s website and are pay-what-you-can, with a suggested price of $20.

    In her talk, Rogers will discuss the seven dimensions of musical listening, and how people’s brains develop over a lifetime of listening to music.

    “Your listening brain is different from everyone else’s, which gives you a unique response to any given record,” she says.

    Rogers explains that a person might like a certain song because they love dancing to its rhythm or they get emotional listening to the lyrics. Another song might resonate with someone because they find the sound design exciting or it ignites their imagination.

    The event will also feature a live music ‘record pull’ with local recording artist Mark Lalama. Rogers and Lalama will take turns playing snippets of music and explaining the features of each song that excite them.

    “I’m hoping listeners will come away with a sense of their own listener profile and a better vocabulary for describing their musical taste,” she says.

    The event will conclude with live music by Grammy nominee, producer, composer and pianist Larry Edoff, who will perform a Prince medley.

    Complementing The Music of Listening event will be a film screening of Purple Rain on Thursday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre. Tickets are $9.50 for the general public or $7.50 for Film House members.

    Rogers will also be presenting free lectures for the Brock community.

    A Neuroaesthetics of Music Perception lecture will take place Monday, Oct. 23 from 10 to 11 a.m. in Plaza 600F. All Brock University students, faculty and staff are welcome to attend and are encouraged to RSVP via ExperienceBU.

    Rogers will discuss how neural processes contribute to music preference and how the brain is involved with hypercreativity.

    “Neuroaesthetics is a hot topic right now in neuroscience,” she says. “How do we get a reaction of art appreciation from works of art?”

    A Music and Neuroscience lecture will take place Monday, Oct. 23 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre Recital Hall, as part of the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts Walker Cultural Leader Series. Students and faculty from Brock’s downtown arts school are welcome to attend.

    The lecture will focus on how students can apply neuroscience-related findings about music listeners to their own writing, recording and producing of music.

     

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    Categories: Announcements, Current Students, Events, Faculty & Instructors, Media Releases, News, Uncategorised

  • Brock artists to draw inspiration from new bursary

    Monday, January 30, 2023 | By

    Paul Green and Ginny Medland-Green at Canada Games Park this past summer.

    Through a gift to Brock’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, Paul Green and Ginny Medland-Green are supporting students who’ve chosen to pursue a career in the arts.

    Originally published in The Brock News | FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2023 | by 

    When Ginny Medland-Green and Paul Green toured Brock’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA) early last year, they left impressed by the community that exists for young artists at the downtown school.

    The couple, who have a deep love and appreciation for the arts, moved to Niagara-on-the-Lake seven years ago and have been pleasantly surprised by the cultural richness of the region. Through a recent gift in support of the MIWSFPA, they hope to support the study of the arts for students and showcase the impact their work can and will have on communities such as Niagara.

    “It’s courageous to study fine and performing arts at university and set a goal to be a working artist,” Medland-Green said. “We hope our bursary will inspire students to set both imaginative and practical goals for their capstone project and assist financially in a way that energizes them as they work creatively and tirelessly in what is a very competitive environment.”

    Currently taking applications, the Medland and Green Inspiring Artists Bursary is open to all third-year Honours students enrolled in Dramatic Arts, Music and Visual Arts at the MIWSFPA. The bursary has been established to assist students pursuing a unique opportunity such as travel, an internship or training that will benefit their upcoming capstone project or production, taking place in the 2023-24 academic year.

    “The Greens’ gift is a true investment in the future of our students, our downtown campus and the arts in our community,” said Sonia Dupte, Executive Director, Development and Campaigns. “Through its endowment, it will impact generations of inspiring artists at Brock.”

    From the onset of conversations with Brock and the MIWSFPA about the gift, Medland-Green and Green emphasized the importance of the bursary supporting a learning activity that not only excites the student recipient, but also professionalizes and shapes their career path in the arts.

    Linda Carreiro, Associate Dean of Fine and Performing Arts, commended the uniqueness of the bursary and the opportunities it will support for students at the downtown arts school.

    “Students at the Marilyn School are lucky to have a variety of awards established to support them throughout their studies,” she said. “The Medland and Green Inspiring Artists Bursary is unique in the way that it really hones in on the learning and professional development that often happens outside of a classroom.

    “Financially supporting students to pursue an opportunity they’ve identified to advance their own learning will not only inspire them towards a career path, but will also instil confidence that their skills are important and they can in fact make a living by pursuing a career in the arts,” Carreiro said.

    Interested applicants are invited to submit a short proposal (up to 500 words) and budget for the event, project or opportunity for which they are requesting funding. The submission should also include how the funding will assist in the application of their final-year project or production.

    Comprehensive applications, which include the proposal and budget, can be submitted to Brock’s Awards and Bursaries web page and will be reviewed by an advisory committee. The deadline for submissions is Friday, Feb. 10 at 4 p.m.

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    Categories: Alumni, Alumni, Announcements, Current Students, Faculty & Instructors, Future Students, In the Media, News

  • Brock faculty honoured for local arts impact

    Wednesday, December 07, 2022 | By

    Three individuals stand behind three sitting individuals, each holding a turquoise trophy against a grey-beige backdrop.

    St. Catharines Arts Award winners (clockwise from front left) Emily Oriold, Monica Dufault, Kathyrn Sinopoli, Rachel Rensink-Hoff, Amy Friend and Frank Goldspink were recently honoured by the City of St. Catharines. (Photo courtesy of the City of St. Catharines)

    Originally published in The Brock News | TUESDAY, DECEMBER 06, 2022 | by Charles Kim

    The impact of faculty from Brock’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts is being felt in the local community.

    Amy Friend, Associate Professor and Department of Visual Arts Chair, and Rachel Rensink-Hoff, Associate Professor in the Department of Music, were each recently honoured during the St. Catharines Arts Awards and recognized for their respective contributions to helping the arts thrive locally.

    Friend received the Established Artist Award during the awards celebration held Tuesday, Nov. 29, at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre. Her work, which has been exhibited nationally and internationally, explores various methodologies through photography, installation and community-based collaborations. The focus of her work fluctuates with investigations relative to history, time, land memory, dust, oceans and connections to the universe.

    “The award is a wonderful nod to the work artists accomplish in this community and there are many of us,” Friend said. “I have grown as an artist in this region and have had opportunities to collaborate with many people. I would like to see even greater and consistent support for the arts in our community and schools. There is an abundance of amazing work happening here, but much more is possible.”

    Rensink-Hoff — Conductor of the Brock University Choir and Sora Singers, and Artistic Director of the Avanti Chamber Singers — was presented with the Arts in Education Award.

    Her contributions to the local arts community have resulted in many performances and partnerships, including the co-ordination of a performance by the Brock University Choir, Avanti Chamber Singers and Sora Singers under the leadership of guest conductor, Kanaka Maoli artist, activist and cultural bearer Jace Kaholokula Sapan.

    “It is a joy to be a part of a thriving arts community here in St. Catharines and I am humbled by this recognition, particularly on the heels of a challenging two and a half years,” Rensink-Hoff said. “I have seen in my students and singers just how life-giving their participation in the arts can be. Their passion and dedication to making music throughout the pandemic has been such a tremendous source of inspiration.”

    A full list of recipients of the St. Catharines Arts Awards is available on the City of St. Catharines website.

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    Categories: Alumni, Announcements, Current Students, Faculty & Instructors, Future Students, In the Media, Media Releases, News

  • Local arts awards give nods to Brock faculty

    Friday, November 11, 2022 | By

    Three individuals stand behind three sitting individuals, each holding a turquoise trophy against a grey-beige backdrop.

    Established Artist Nominee and Department of Visual Arts Associate Professor Donna Szoke engages with a class in her Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games exhibition space.

    Originally published in The Brock News | THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 03, 2022 | by Charles Kim

    The nominees for this year’s St. Catharines Arts Awards include some familiar faces from the Brock community.

    Associate Professors Rachel Rensink-Hoff, from Brock’s Department of Music, and Amy Friend and Donna Szoke, from the Department of Visual Arts, have each been recognized for their contributions to the arts.

    Rensink-Hoff, who conducts the Brock University Choir and Sora Singers, and is the Artistic Director of the Avanti Chamber Singers, was nominated for the Art in Education Award. The past Vice-President of Programming for Choral Canada and past President of Choirs Ontario, she maintains an active career as an adjudicator, workshop clinician and juror both locally and across Canada.

    A woman wearing all black leans against a wall covered in vines.

    Art in Education Award Nominee and Associate Professor Rachel Rensink-Hoff.

    Friend and Szoke were each nominated in the Established Artist Award category.

    Friend, Chair of Brock’s Department of Visual Arts, has exhibited in a generous roster of national and international exhibitions, including the Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize Exhibition (U.K.), Gexto Photofestival (Spain), DongGang Photography Museum (Korea) and many more. Her work has also been featured in numerous publications such as California Sunday Magazine (U.S.), Archeology of Photography – Lux (Poland), Musée Magazine (U.S.) and Wired (U.S.).

    Szoke is an interdisciplinary artist whose work has been shown in public art, interactive video installation, outdoor site-specific installation, publications, film festivals and galleries in Canada, the U.S., France, Germany, Turkey, Hungary, Croatia, Cuba, the United Arab Emirates and South Korea. She has received numerous research awards and grants for her work, including from the Canada Council for the Arts, B.C. Arts Council, Ontario Arts Council, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. In 2017, she was awarded the Brock Faculty of Humanities Award for Excellence in Research and Creative Activity.

    A female holds flowers under a tropical shelter with glass and film on a table.

    Established Artist Nominee and Department of Visual Arts

    Chair Amy Friend works on cameraless images in the field.

    Friend and Szoke recently collaborated for a shared exhibition this past summer in conjunction with the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games. Small Movements showcased their two projects, both funded by Brock’s VPR Canada Games Grants.

    City of St. Catharines Cultural Co-ordinator Ashley Judd-Rifkin says the awards celebrate the best of the local artistic community. “The outstanding individuals and organizations that have been nominated for the arts awards are all very deserving. Their commitment, creativity and contributions have made St. Catharines a more beautiful, vibrant and exciting place to live.”

    The St. Catharines Arts Awards will be livestreamed from Partridge Hall at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre on Tuesday, Nov. 29 starting at 6:30 p.m. Details for the livestream will be shared through the City’s social media channels closer to the event.

    A full list of nominees is available on the City of St. Catharines website.

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    Categories: Faculty & Instructors, Future Students, In the Media, Media Releases, News

  • Guest conductor to lead Brock choirs in Decolonizing our Music-Making performance

    Friday, November 11, 2022 | By

    Jace Kaholokula Saplan

    Jace Kaholokula Saplan will be the guest conductor for a collective of choral groups Friday, Oct. 28 at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre Recital Hall.

    Originally published in The Brock News | TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2022 | by Charles Kim

    An upcoming choral performance will bring together the Brock University Choir, Avanti Chamber Singers and Sora Signers under the leadership of a guest conductor.

    As part of the 2022 Walker Cultural Leader Series, the Department of Music is welcoming Jace Kaholokula Saplan, who will conduct The Songs We Sing, The Land We Stand On: Decolonizing our Music-Making on Friday, Oct. 28 at 7:30 p.m. at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre Recital Hall.

    During their time together, Saplan — a Kanaka Maoli advocate, artist, educator and culture bearer — aims to share their knowledge and research with the choral groups and create a space of understanding and artistic exploration.

    Saplan currently serves as Director of Choral Activities and Associate Professor of Music Learning and Teaching and Choral Conducting at Arizona State University (ASU). They oversee the graduate program in choral conducting, conduct the ASU Concert Choir, and teach courses in choral literature and pedagogy that weave decolonial and critical theories with communal vocal practice.

    Their research focuses on the performance practice of Pasifika choral traditions and Queen Lili’uokalani’s choral compositions, while using decolonial approaches to diversity, equity and inclusion in the choral classroom. Saplan also works in the intersections of choral pedagogy, gender and sexuality in communities of colour, addressing trauma-informed practice and boundary building with Black, Brown, Indigenous and Asian music educators.

    “We are thrilled to be welcoming Jace Kaholokula Saplan to our Brock campus this week and to learn about how our art form might be expanded to welcome richer and more diverse approaches to choral singing,” says Associate Professor of Music Rachel Rensink-Hoff.

    During Saplan’s residency at Brock’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, both Brock and community choirs will explore the intricate connections and responsibilities associated with choral practices, specifically focusing on Indigenous ties to the choral arts.

    “I look forward to the building of a beloved community with the choral artists of Ontario. Together we will understand the diverse complexities that root forth when the choral arts are intersected with Native and Indigenous ways of being,” says Saplan. “I hope to weave our time together with an empathetic understanding of the power of our art form, and an instilled responsibility of how we consume and propagate the craft — all while joyfully singing.”

    In anticipation of the choirs’ performance with Saplan, Rensink-Hoff added, “We look forward to being challenged and inspired, and to sharing our learning with the community on Friday evening in a presentation of Indigenous Hawaiian story and song.”

    Attendance to the lecture-performance is free, but tickets must be reserved through the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre website.

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    Categories: Announcements, Current Students, Events, Faculty & Instructors, Future Students, In the Media, Media Releases, News

  • Music students’ talent shines on provincial stage

    Friday, September 02, 2022 | By

    An image of a group of four individuals: two men on the left and two women on the right, all wearing black semi-formal wear. There is a wooden wall behind them with names of recognized individuals and years

    Brock University Music students Lee Bakker, Isaiah Burry and Caroline Young join Associate Professor Rachel Rensink-Hoff after their Ontario Youth Choir performance.

    Originally published in The Brock News | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2022 | by Charles Kim

    After spending the summer fine-tuning their choral skills, three Brock Music students are ready to start the school year on a high note.

    Third-year student Caroline Young and fourth-year students Isaiah Burry and Lee Bakker found themselves surrounded by talented and inspired chorists from across the province after successfully auditioning for the Ontario Youth Choir (OYC) earlier this year.

    The OYC is an honour choir that showcases the skills and abilities of Ontario singers between the ages of 16 and 23. The 10-day summer training intensive gives students the chance to be part of a large group of motivated and enthusiastic singers, with their hard work culminating in a final performance.

    The OYC’s selection process began with an audition, which included a solo piece, vocal warm-ups to gauge the performer’s vocal range and a piece chosen by the OYC to be performed acapella.

    Having successfully completed the audition process Bakker, Burry and Young quickly came to realize that they were among a collective of gifted chorists.

    “I was surrounded by so many voice majors and talented instructors, it really challenged me,” Young said. “This opportunity definitely helped me grow as a musician.”

    Prior to living in Ontario, Burry was part of the B.C. Youth Choir. His time with OYC, however, left him impressed by the talent he found himself immersed in.

    “Everyone was studying voice in some manner on a university level and being surrounded by those like-minded individuals was really cool,” he said.

    As the program got underway, it became clear that it had a different dynamic than most choral programs, Burry said. Rather than creating a student and teacher environment, it offered more of an artistic collective.

    “They treat you as a colleague and because of that, there’s a lot more responsibility,” Burry said. “We rehearsed, on average, eight hours a day and by the end of the day, if there was something that still needed to be worked on for you personally, then that was your responsibility. You had to do your part because the next day everyone was going to be working on something else.”

    The program and its final performance was a rejuvenating experience for all three Brock students as they prepared to head into the new academic year.

    “I feel like I can take more risks now, especially with solo performances,” said Young. “If I can stand up and audition for the OYC then I can definitely stand up and perform for the Brock Choir.”

    Burry said the final performance left him with a “feeling of motivation reignited in me.”

    “In my mind, I chalked it up to the fact that what I was getting through OYC was a glimpse at the next step of being a professional chorister,” he said.

    In attendance at the final performance was Associate Professor Rachel Rensink-Hoff, Conductor of the Brock University Choir and Sora Singers, and Artistic Director of the Avanti Chamber Singers.

    “The Ontario Youth Choir has played a significant role in the lives of young choral singers across the province for many decades and it was very special to have three of our own students representing Brock’s Music program in this prestigious choral ensemble,” Rensink-Hoff said. “To witness the energy and passion in their culminating performance, particularly given the obstacles faced by choral musicians over the past two and a half years, was heartwarming. I look forward to encouraging future students to audition for this tremendous musical experience.”

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    Categories: Current Students, Faculty & Instructors, Future Students, In the Media, News

  • Brock’s Niagara Choral Workshop open to community

    Wednesday, June 08, 2022 | By

    Rachel Rensink-Hoff

    The Niagara Choral Workshop will be led by Brock Associate Professor Rachel Rensink-Hoff this summer.

    Originally published in The Brock News | MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2022 | by 

    A three-day workshop this summer is inviting the community to learn the ins and outs of choral singing at Brock’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts.

    Led by Associate Professor Rachel Rensink-Hoff, the Niagara Choral Workshop is designed for choral conductors, teachers, song leaders and those with a general interest in the topic. The workshop, for which applications are now open, will be taught through engaging and interactive sessions on sound exploration, rehearsal strategies, conducting techniques and repertoire perspectives.

    Alongside Rensink-Hoff, the learning experience will also feature guest speakers Karen Burke, Associate Professor at York University School of the Arts, Performance, Media and Design, and Elroy Friesen, Professor and Director of Choral Studies at the University of Manitoba.

    The workshop will run from Aug. 24 to 27 at the MIWSFPA. Each day will comprise of hands-on masterclasses, group discussions and group sessions with choral colleagues on current topics in choral singing.

    “Our three-day choral workshop is designed to inspire and equip choral educators and conductors of all levels of experience with hands-on workshops and discussion-based explorations of relevant topics, including the joy of singing with others,” Rensink-Hoff says.

    Registration for the workshop is open to professionals and students, as well as the general public. The deadline to apply is Wednesday, June 15. Lunch and refreshments will be provided. To apply or for more information, please visit the Brock Music web page.

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