Articles tagged with: brock university choir

  • 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

  • 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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  • 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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