An Easter Monday Reflection
Dear friends and supporters of Pro Coro Canada,
As we start the new week, many of us having celebrated Easter, we look ahead to the next ‘milestone’, the next personal event, the next virtual gathering or the next announcement about our current global health crisis. I know that these past three days, from Good Friday to Easter Sunday, were for many an important time in their personal Faith journey, and that with the restrictions on gatherings, the impossibility of celebrating with and among the community was highlighted in a stark manner. It was a quiet weekend for most, I assume, and certainly in this household, reflection and gratitude led the journey.
Music was a big part of the last week. With Pro Coro Canada we had planned to present two major works by world-renowned composers at the Winspear Centre: Passion and Resurrection by Eriks Esenvalds and Paul Mealor’s Requiem: The Soul of the Righteous. Every day for two weeks my thoughts included ‘what should have been today’, for example the arrival of our guests, then the rehearsals, - with Pro Coro and with the Edmonton Youth Choir-, and the practises on stage at the Winspear, leading to the concert on Good Friday. Listening to recordings of the works provided some solace, but also put in strong contrast our passion as singers, conductors, composers, and choirs compared with the suspension of any live artistic practise for ensembles for the foreseeable future.
Over the past 7 days, Pro Coro Canada provided daily musical reflections. We have heard from many of you about your reading and listening experience, and we really appreciate that you have taken the time to write to us. It seems that for many of you, the blog posts provided a daily routine, and we’re happy that our choir is able to accompany you in these times. In fact, there were so many individuals interacting with our posts that the total number would have filled the Winspear Centre three times over. We have also received donations via our online portal, and, in particular during these trying times, we are grateful for every dollar that has been given to support our organization and our staff and our singers. Pro Coro Canada is dependent on support from philanthropists like yourself and any donation, be it experience, time, skill or money is gratefully received.
Our daily musical reflections through Holy Week have come to an end. You will be able to access the music via this page by clicking on the daily titles, or by going to our soundcloud page. There you will be able to see the entire musical collection, and more will be added over time. Again, thank you for your participation and enjoyment.
And - our next installment of musical reflections with Pro Coro Canada is around the corner. Just over a year ago, the choir premiered the major work by Canadian Peter-Anthony Togni, Living Flame of Love. This performance took place at All Saints’ Anglican Cathedral in Edmonton, and included harpist Nora Bumanis and Joseph Petric on the accordion. Filmmaker and professor Michael MacDonald accompanied the process from the creation to the performance over the course of 6 months. His 40 minutes documentary will be up for release soon and initially exclusive for our audiences. We look forward to sharing this piece of musical history with you, and hope this provides you with new anticipation for our next event!
In the meantime, I wish you good health.
Michael Zaugg
Support Pro Coro Canada
Thank you for joining us for this week’s Holy Week journey in song. This is a challenging time for Pro Coro Canada. We are a strong organization with a committed choir of the best singers in Edmonton, and our purpose is to enrich the lives of our community. With your support, we are determined to keep our operations at full capacity and continue to pioneer new and exciting ways to bring music into your life, in the world or in the comfort of your own home.