September 2002 Newsletter

September, 2002 Volume 15 Number 1

Letter from the President

Cari Bach Amici

Celebration time is here!! 2002 -2003 will be the 15th year that the CBFS has filled a very important niche in the cultural life of Calgarians by presenting music of the Baroque time prepared by choir, soloists, conductor and orchestra.

We all have done, and will continue to do, our part in making this possible, whether we sing, play, conduct, come to listen, are members of the board, volunteers: I could go on and on but what it comes down to is that all of us can take pride in what has been wrought these last 15 years.

In great measure is this due to Christine Azad’s amazing contribution as artistic director. A post which she has decided to relinguish at the end of the 2003 season. I do not have to go into details about what her work has meant to the Society: we all have seen and heard the wonderful results.

It sounds extremely trite to say: “Thank you Christine”. But that is, at this time, all we can do. “Where would we be now if you had not taken on that task all these years ago?”

Thankfully for us all Christine is staying on in the capacity as contractor for the orchestra and as our keyboard player.

From this follows the fact that the position of Artistic Director will be vacant starting at the 2003-2004 season. The board is open to recommendations:

Maybe you know of someone? Might you be interested yourself? Contact us.In this newsletter you will find the exciting programmes Christine and Janet have put together for this upcoming season. Please take note of the various locations where we will be performing.

During our concert this past March you were asked to fill in a survey. 171 of you did!!! Thank you very much. Those results which we felt would interest you we have published in this letter and I can assure you that the board looked at the surveys carefully and will implement your suggestions wherever possible.

So here we go... into another year starting off with our exciting Marathon. Again you will be able to enjoy 6 hours of music by Bach and his contemporaries performed by some of Calgary’s most renowned musicians. Come and listen to the wonderful organ at the Christian Emmanuel Reformed church, a marimba player, an actor from Theatre Junction etc. etc. And all of this still only for $10.

All of us at the Bach Society are looking forward to seeing you at our upcoming concerts. If you have any questions or comments please use the telephone number or e-mail addresses in this newsletter to contact us.

Marijke van Wijk.

Calendar of Events

Calgary Bach Choir Resumes Monday, September 9, 2002 – 7p.m.Knox Presbyterian Church - 3704-37Street SW

Annual General Meeting Friday, September 27, 2002 – 8 p.m.Rec. Room of 3316 Rideau Place SWCome and discover our new exciting season with goodies served, elect your new Board and renew your membership - still only $25 per year

The 15th Bach Marathon Saturday, October 19, 2002 - 12-6 p.m. Emmanuel Christian Reformed Church 3020 51st Street SW Please donate items for the silent auction.(e.g. paintings, new books, ceramics,gift baskets, gift certificates)

The Bach Advent Concert Sunday, December 15, 2002 - 3 p.m. St. Matthew’s United Church - 2039-26a Street SW

The Bach Children’s Concert Saturday, February 1, 2003 - 2 p.m. Leacock Theatre - Mount Royal College Bach’s music performed by childrenand adults Come early to play! From 1:00 on with instruments for all to try!

Bach Birthday Celebration Sunday, March 23, 2003 - 3 p.m.St. Matthew’s United Church - 2039-26a Street SW

The Survey

You will remember that we asked our audience to fill out a survey form at a recent concert. The results will be helpful as we plan for upcoming concerts. We thought you might like to see some of the results from that survey.

Total respondents: 171

First time attendees: Yes 43% No 56%

If No, how many concerts have you attended? 2-3.9% • 3-11.4% • 4-10.4% • 5-14.5% • More than 5-40.6%

How do you usually hear about our concerts? Friends 43.8%Personal contact with Bach Society 35%Radio Announcement 9.3%Newspaper 16.3%Posters in church 11.6%Bach Newsletter 13.4%Other 12.3%

Age range: 10-15 1.7% • 16-21 5.2% • 22-35 12.7%36-45 17.4% • 46-55 14.5% • 56-65 18.666-75 25.5% • 76-85 4% • 86-95 1.1%

Change from evening to afternoon performances:

Liked: 59.6%

Not liked: 3.5% • No opinion: 32.7% Liked a diversified programme:Yes: 34% • No: 0 • No opinion: 32.7%

Liked a diversified programme: Yes: 34% • No: 0 • No opinion: 32.7%

Many general comments were also received; Some of these were: Better signs to washrooms • Church with better organ • Orchestra overwhelms choir • Good parking at St. Matthews • Stick to one venue• Telemann, Vivaldi, Handel would be nice • Keep programme in the Bach period • More notice about Marathon • Cathedral like Church would be better, • Excerpts of concerts downtown during lunch would be helpful.

Profile -Shari Derksen

by Anna Carnell

Shari Derksen, soprano with the Calgary Bach Festival Choir, grew up singing congregational four part harmony in a Mennonite Church. The rich harmonies prepared her well for Bach, though she is at home with classical repertoire as well. Currently, she solos with the Calgary Renaissance Singers and Players, and works as executive member at large for them. It was there that she first heard Janet Youngdahl as a guest performer. She studies now with Janet Youngdahl, who eventually guided Shari on the road to ‘Bach’. Shari comes from the type of musical family who can put together nothing less than a band for family reunions. She sang in a Children’s Community Choir in Edmonton (the Colchester Singers) but her formal training began in high school, where she played the french horn and trumpet in the Junior High and High School band and jazz band. Following high school she joined the Rocky Mountain College Choir and found her musical voice. Later still, while a member of the University of Calgary Chamber Choir she took part in their European tour, and will never forget the beautiful cathedrals with their exceptional acoustics.With experience singing in over 10 languages, Shari has several musical theatre roles to her credit, including Little Shop of Horrors, Cats, White Christmas, Ziegfield Follies and Charlie Brown. Shari dreams of widening her performance experience to operatic roles, particularly Mozart.Now, however, she shares her time with her family (no small feat with a two year old baby), and her work as part-time research assistant at the University of Calgary Community Services Centre. Her BSc in Psychology prepared her well for her current project with the 2002 Calgary Homeless Study doing program evaluations. She’s excited to be starting her second year with the Calgary Bach Festival Choir and is looking forward to the challenging repertoire.

Profile - Rod Thomas Squance

by Anna Carnell

Rod Thomas Squance, percussionist, will be playing his specialty, the marimba, at the upcoming Bach Marathon. His original career goal was to be an NHL referee. However, after attending a percussion ensemble concert with a high school student teacher, he was intrigued enough to prepare a set of audition pieces for his University audition 5 weeks later. He prepared his first Bach selection on marimba, a transcription of the Violin Concerto in A minor, as well as a timpani piece and demonstrations on other instruments.After achieving his B. Mus. and M. Mus. in performance, he has stayed on as percussion teacher at the U. of C. He took an extra year to do a year’s residency at the Banff Centre.He has since transcribed all the Bach cello suites and will be playing the Lute Suite in G Minor in an upcoming solo recital as part of the University of Calgary Celebrity Series at the Rosza Centre on December 14, 2002.His marimba is made from Guatemalan rosewood, appropriately enough, since the marimba is the National Instrument of Guatemala, played everywhere there as a street instrument. They were introduced to North America in the vaudeville era by the four Hurtado brothers, gained popularity as a jazz instrument, and, in the last 20 years, is gaining popularity as a classical contemporary solo instrument. The wooden bars are hit with varying kinds of mallets with shafts of birch and a rubber core wrapped in yarn. The yarn makes for a soft, mellower sound, though the rubber mallet is also used for more of an edgy sound.Rod plays regularily with the Calgary Philharmonic and the Red Deer Symphony orchestras, freelances with chamber groups such as the Lands End Chamber Ensemble, and plays jazz as well. We’re lucky to be hearing such an unusual instrument at the Bach Marathon, from such a gifted player.

Editor's Website Picks

Interested in contacting other choral groups in Calgary? You will find the Calgary Region Arts Foundation client list at http://www.craf.org/clients4.htmlThe Academy of Ancient Music at http://www.aam.co.uk/ has program notes on works and shows pictures of artists, such as Bach. To find these, click on News and Features.A little embarrassed that you don’t know some musical term like appoggiatura? You won’t be if you check out the Glossary page of the Bach Choir of Bethlehem at http://www.bach.org/bach101/suites/glossary.htmlThe Denton Bach Socety revisits Bach’s first Leipzig Christmas at http://www.dentonbach.com/archive/magnificat9.htm where you can find program notes, commentaries, pictures and the full texts of the Magnificat in Latin and English.Don’t forget our own http://www.bachcalgary.org with newsletters back to September 2000, pictures of the choir and orchestra and profiles of our conductors.

Membership Information

The Calgary Bach Festival Society has a large library of cantatas which can be rented. If interested, please contact us at 282-8525 or e-mail Bill Zdep tcprint@cadvision.com.

Volunteers are welcome and needed for several positions and projects. If interested, please contact us at 282-8525 or e-mail Bill Zdep tcprint@cadvision.com.

A Friendly Reminder

It’s time to renew your membership in the Calgary Bach Festival Society. Why not speak to a friend – perhaps a neighbour or someone you work with or socialize with and tell them about your Society. Maybe they would like to join the ranks as well. Tell them membership gets them a fine quarterly newsletter, dicounted rates to most concerts, and most importantly - the knowledge that they support a fine organization that contributes in a large way to the artistic fibre of this City and Province.