Camerata Nova is now Dead of Winter

We’re back with a new season and bold new name

As we enter our 2021/22 season, we’re redefining what it means to be a vocal ensemble in the 21st century. For most of our 25-year lifespan, Camerata Nova has described itself as a “group without fear.” Emerging out of the last 18 months of the pandemic, we’ve decided to take this mantra to the next level. We’re entering our new season with a revitalized brand and a bold name change. Camerata Nova is changing its name to Dead of Winter.

“The concept we’re working with is renaissance, or rebirth,” says Andrew Balfour, the ensemble’s Artistic Director of Cree descent. “From an Indigenous perspective, Dead of Winter speaks to recharging and reviving creativity. The concept of “dead of winter” is a strong and positive one.”

The name reflects a shift in artistic direction that our vocal ensemble has been experiencing in the last five years or so. Camerata Nova got its legs performing Baroque and Renaissance music. In-house composer Andrew Balfour has been leading the way in Indigenous classical music on a national level. Our ensemble has been steadily performing more Indigenous, modern and new arrangements of choral music, as well as adhering to our early-music roots.

“From a Settler perspective, Dead of Winter also speaks to a sense of place,” says Anne Janes, Board Chair. “It represents who we are and where we’re from. People outside of Manitoba already see us as ‘Winterpeg,’ and we’ve decided to put our own spin on Winnipeg’s infamous reputation.”

Our ensemble is in a unique position of straddling two worlds; we are a non-Indigenous choir led by an Indigenous artistic director. It is not a simple identity to navigate, especially in the music world. But the new name is an effort to meet this complicated artistic identity head-on, “without fear.”

Dead of Winter’s upcoming season is an invitation to audiences and supporters to embark with us on this new stage of our choral journey. On November 27 and 28, Dead of Winter will perform Celebrating the Carol at Crescent Fort Rouge United Church, our first live performance after 18 months spent in “hibernation.” These performances will be a tribute to our beloved holiday concerts from the past. They will also be offered free of charge to welcome back audiences after the non-existent 2020/21 season.

Dead of Winter’s 2021/22 season will pack some punch in the new year. April 2022 will see the premiere of the Winnipeg Baroque Festival – an exciting collaborative initiative presented alongside local choirs Canzona and Polycoro. Then, our final performance of the season will feature Captive, the highly anticipated third installment of Andrew Balfour’s Truth and Reconciliation concert series. Captive is slated to be performed at the West End Cultural Centre in May 2022; Balfour promises it will be a genre-defying program.

Celebrating the Carol will be performed on Saturday, November 27 at 7:30 pm and again on Sunday, November 28 at 3:00 pm at Crescent Fort Rouge United Church (525 Wardlaw Avenue).

Visit deadofwinter.ca to reserve your free ticket(s) and guarantee your seat(s) to this incredible event!

Learn more about our season and our ensemble at deadofwinter.ca.

 

Chelsea Kutyn Wins Annual Camerata Nova Bursary at the 103rd Winnipeg Music Festival

Chelsea Kutyn

We would like to offer our hearty congratulations to Chelsea Kutyn, who is the recipient of this year’s annual Camerata Nova bursary for the Most Outstanding Vocal or Choral Performance of Early Music at the 103rd Winnipeg Music Festival! Chelsea won recognition for her interpretation of J.S. Bach’s Wiewohl mein Herz….Ich will dir mein Herze schenken from the St. Matthew Passion.

Chelsea is currently working towards a Master of Music degree in Voice Performance at the University of Manitoba, under the tutelage of master technician, Monica Huisman. She is also one of four artists in Pacific Opera Victoria’s “Apprentice Civic Engagement Quartet,” an artist-led mentorship program aimed at creating authentic story-telling and community engagement through workshops and work with digital mediums.

Congratulations Chelsea!

The 103rd Winnipeg Music Festival ‘virtual’ festival was held from March 1 – 21, 2021.  Video recordings of the performances, trophy competitions, and Gala Concert are currently available for viewing via links on the Winnipeg Music Festival website.

Donate Now Through CanadaHelps.org!

Camerata Nova is a registered not-for-profit charitable organization. Exploring, taking risks, and developing exciting new programming, takes time, energy, and money.
Or, click here to find out more about donating.

Faites un don par CanaDon.org!

Camerata Nova est un organisme de bienfaisance enregistré. Explorer, prendre des risques et développer des programmes passionnants – tout cela demande du temps, de l’énergie et de l’argent.
Ou cliquez ici pour en savoir plus sur les façons de donner.

Singing “Gloria” in the Digital Age

Merina Dobson-Perry and Sarah Clefstad at work on a recording session for ‘Gloria’ at St. Norbert Arts Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

For a full year now, choral institutions have been either thriving or surviving in the midst of the online regimen forced upon the world of performing arts.

Choral groups have faced a unique challenge in figuring out how to transfer one of the most complicated and multifarious instruments—the voice—into the two-dimensional spaces of the digital realm. As an instrument, the voice is capable of some impressive sonic gymnastics. It has the ability to move from high-pitched warbles to bass rumblings, to create sounds sharp and direct, and then as quick as a breath recedes into a controlled whisper. We might go so far as to characterize the voice as less a solo instrument than it is a small orchestra, playing in the resonant halls of our diaphragm and skull. Add to this the fact that we often use our voices in harmony and rhythm with the voices of others, and it starts to become clear just how astonishing the work of a tight choral ensemble really is.

The realm of virtual music-making has added a whole new set of sonic permutations to choral singing. While some choral groups have either balked at the challenge (or simply do not have access to the right people and resources to meet the challenges head-on), others are eager to translate the versatility of the voice through a new, exotic medium and push the boundaries of what choral music can be in the 21st century.

“There is quite a level of nuance in how choral groups are approaching singing during this time. All across the country groups are coming up with interesting and novel things to do.”

John Wiens

This is the analysis of Winnipeg-born conductor John Wiens, who is a leader and advocate when it comes to pushing the sonic boundaries of choral performance.

“The progressive groups of today are embracing digital possibilities. There is room, now, for a series of compositions that are written specifically for digital content. The real opportunity as a creative is trying to find ways to write pieces that will embrace the randomness of Zoom—because let’s be honest, voices don’t line up when they’re singing on Zoom!”

For Wiens, the hot opportunity for the choral community is the digital medium itself.

“We’re choral organizations, and we’re spending heaps of money on video and audio engineers. This is fine, but if we want to help sustain our singers we have to be willing to reverse engineer and consider what a successful performance in COVID times really is. It’s experimental.

Wiens cites the “car choir” solution, John Newman’s idea for a kind of drive-in choral concert involving FM transmitters, as one kind of choral innovation that has come out of the pandemic.

“Certainly, many new ideas have developed in the past year. David Newman’s “car choir” is one example of an idea that has developed a life of its own. It is very interesting and different! The fact that there are all these new ideas and capacities, and ways of trying to get through a crisis, is a very positive thing.”

In his own musical projects, Wiens is interested in fusing early Renaissance choral music with contemporary choral styles using a virtual space. His latest project is a collaboration with Camerata Nova on a fresh rendering of ‘Gloria,’ a piece of early music by Renaissance composer Leonel Power.

“This piece specifically fits what I would like to experiment with. It’s written for two unequal voices, in duet, with a third voice that sings a very predictable cantus firmus (which is a tune that everyone recognizes). So you’ve got these two voices singing in a kind of quasi-improvisational fashion over this cantus firmus. I think it’s some of the most virtuous singing you’ll find in Renaissance music. It lends itself well to what I want to try and do with it because I want to try and build a sound world that links early music with contemporary music. I’ve no idea how successful I’ll be at this, as I’ve never tried it before! And, that’s one of the great things about Camerata Nova. They’ll almost always say yes to your wild ideas!”

With this project, Wiens is attempting to meet the digital format in a way that’s progressive and also showcases the inherent freshness and exoticism of the early music genre.

“I’ve never quite understood how it came to be that early music was perceived as less progressive. In the early ’70s when the early music movement got its legs, it was considered vibrant and exciting. Many of the same words were used then that we use to describe the contemporary music movement now.

“We really miss this sense of how innovative early music actually is. There is a bookish attitude that has settled around the genre. And I suppose there almost has to be because you have to read treatises and manuals in order to understand this music. That said, every time I sit down with a piece of early music, I feel how out of the ordinary this music really truly is. It’s not a surprise that contemporary composers today draw on the influence of these earlier works. Many contemporary composers—especially those who write choir—frequently listen to and are heavily influenced by Renaissance music. I think that this parallel gets lost, and this has always puzzled me. Oftentimes we see contemporary concerts treated with an outstanding visual component, but not the same treatment is given to performances of early music. We’ve got these two languages that are very similar, linked in many ways, and both contemporary in similar ways. But the level of freshness and newness in early music is just as present as it is in contemporary music.”

Wiens’ perspective, though fresh in the 21st century, harkens back to the Medieval folk rock movement of the early 1970s. Growing out of England and Germany, this movement saw European rock groups incorporating musical styles from the medieval, renaissance, and baroque eras into their work. Right around the time that the Velvet Underground were closing the gap between rock and avant-garde music and Brian Eno was acquiring his pop celebrity, groups like London’s Gryphon and Gentle Giant were moving “backward” on the trajectory of classical music genres, incorporating multi-instrumental band members who would play the clavichord, harpsichord, violin, and recorder. This subgenre movement of medieval/renaissance rock music lasted maybe a decade, but Wiens’ enthusiasm for the fusion of renaissance and contemporary styles of music is reminiscent of these earlier “punk” attitudes from the Euro-rock scene. Obviously, Wiens is not the lead singer or guitarist of a rock group—he’s the conductor of a choral ensemble. But now in 2021, we have the means to imagine these different types of musical artists and genres as not so different from one another—means such as the world of digital possibilities. You could almost go so far as to say: the cloud is the limit.

In collaboration with Camerata Nova, recording and filming started on  ‘Gloria’ during the first week of April, at the St. Norbert Arts Centre in St. Norbert, Winnipeg. The recording, and video component, will feature sopranos Sarah Clefstad and Merina Dobson-Perry.

Stay tuned for the release!

Donate Now Through CanadaHelps.org!

Camerata Nova is a registered not-for-profit charitable organization. Exploring, taking risks, and developing exciting new programming, takes time, energy, and money.
Or, click here to find out more about donating.

Faites un don par CanaDon.org!

Camerata Nova est un organisme de bienfaisance enregistré. Explorer, prendre des risques et développer des programmes passionnants – tout cela demande du temps, de l’énergie et de l’argent.
Ou cliquez ici pour en savoir plus sur les façons de donner.

 

Camerata Nova’s groundbreaking Captive is the story audiences need to hear

Camerata Nova is scheduled to release a recording and video performance for Captive, the third project in their Reconciliation Series. Looking to be released this year, the series is spearheaded by composer and Camerata Nova Artistic Director, Andrew Balfour, who curates each concert around a theme that resonates with the Canadian Indigenous experience. So far, the series has featured collaborations with an impressive range of Indigenous artists, including Cree hip hop artist Lindsay Knight and Polaris winner Jeremy Dutcher (Taken, 2017), and traditional Ojibway drummer-singer Cory Campbell and cellist Cris Derksen (Fallen, 2018). Captive will feature compositions by Andrew Balfour, Cris Derksen, and Eliot Britton.

Originally slated for May 2020, the Captive concert now has additional time to percolate (in the midst of the pandemic), and Balfour has been unexpectedly grateful for the extra time.

One of the added challenges of the Captive, prior to May 2020, had to do with the lack of familiarity between the collaborators, in addition to being scattered across the country as active performing artists. In order to create a truly exciting collaboration, one that is cohesive and forward-thinking, Camerata Nova decided to organize a composer gathering for all of the creatives involved in the project. The gathering took place over four days in the Manitoba prairies (in the middle of winter!) and proved a valuable bonding experience for all involved. For Balfour, it was an essential event in his creative development of the concert.

“I think that Captive will be profound in part because it’s changed so much. To have an extra year to sit with the project has been very eye-opening into what we want its statement to be.”

“Our platform is, of course, choral music, which can be an incredibly powerful medium. With this project, we’ve been able to collaborate with Indigenous artists at a high level, and bring their vision to fruition through the artistry of conductor Mel Braun, head of the vocal program at the Marcel A. Desautels Faculty of Music, and the singers of Camerata Nova, alongside the safe space we’re able to offer these artists.”

Ultimately, the pandemic has given Balfour the time to go deeper into the story he wants to tell, and figure out the best methods to provide the context of this story to his audiences.

“The motivation at the heart of the Captive project (and the entire Reconciliation project) is to provide a platform for the voices of Indigenous artists. Though we may delve into some pretty heavy subjects, it’s so important that we provide our audience with the right context. This is vital. It’s one thing to be an artist or creator or composer and have something to say about murdered or missing Indigenous women, or Residential Schools or addictions; but you have to give performers and audiences context. Otherwise, the message will be lost. The country in general needs context.”

Balfour’s own 25-minute piece, ‘Captive,’ has evolved over the course of the last year. Initially intended to tell the story of Chief Poundmaker, the historically renowned chief of the Poundmaker Cree Nation, the narrative has instead morphed into a larger story of Indigenous incarceration, to be presented in five abstract scenes.

“There’s a legacy in our country of imprisonment of Indigenous people, and it’s a very tragic part of our colonial history here; indeed, most of our prisons are still filled with Indigenous people. One of the key things these Truth & Reconciliation Concerts do is allow myself and other composers to reset and rethink how we want to tell a story. Like ‘Notinikew’ (from the Fallen 2018 concert), it is not my intention to end ‘Captive’ with a positive note. Although I am myself a positive person, this is a subject that doesn’t have an optimal conclusion.

“Alongside that thought, it’s also important for me to highlight that I don’t speak for all Indigenous people. I can only speak from my perspective. Indeed, I’ve had a little experience within the justice system, and have seen the powerful tragedy and racial injustice from the inside. But of course, this injustice is everywhere; it’s in the medical system, it’s in the social system, it’s in our religious institutions, it’s everywhere. And the people who work in these systems, they are our intended audience. Ultimately, these Reconciliation stories are meant to be seen by those who are non-Indigenous.

“I can’t explain emotionally what the listener will get from my piece. I do feature the choir in a way that’s both subtle and important; they’re the bystanders and witness to what is happening. I was originally going to use performance art again, but I’ve decided instead on doing something that better features the choir and the powerful vocal forces that we have in our midst, to create the tension, suspension, and final declension of the narrative.”

In another perspective, Balfour’s ‘Captive’ can be understood as a statement of being held captive by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I would say it’s a soundscape of mourning, solitude, and captivity; these emotions have cycled through many of us through this time of lockdown, where we’ve been separated from our loved ones, and, unfortunately for some of us, experienced the passing of those close to us without being able to be with family or friends.

“Most importantly, however, ‘Captive’ addresses my own perspective on Indigenous incarceration. When we are finally able to come out with this performance, I think that our audiences will be quite moved by the poignant and multi-layered statement of this concert.”

 

Take a whirlwind tour of our earlier Reconciliation Concerts, and watch the playlist of performance excerpts below:

MCA’s Award of Distinction for Artistic Excellence

We extend to the Manitoba Choral Association a heartfelt thanks for awarding us the inaugural Award of Distinction for Artistic Excellence. What a great honour it is to be amongst such a talented group of recipients! We are extremely grateful. Read more about these awards and all the fantastic recipients by CLICKING HERE!

Prix de distinction pour l’excellence artistique
Nous remercions chaleureusement la Manitoba Choral Association de nous avoir décerné l’un des premiers Prix de distinction pour l’excellence artistique. Quel grand honneur d’être parmi un groupe de récipiendaires aussi talentueux! Nous sommes extrêmement reconnaissants. Pour en savoir plus sur ces prix et sur les autres lauréats, voir ci-dessous.

Donate Now Through CanadaHelps.org!

Camerata Nova is a registered not-for-profit charitable organization. Exploring, taking risks, and developing exciting new programming, takes time, energy, and money.
Or, click here to find out more about donating.

Faites un don par CanaDon.org!

Camerata Nova est un organisme de bienfaisance enregistré. Explorer, prendre des risques et développer des programmes passionnants – tout cela demande du temps, de l’énergie et de l’argent.
Ou cliquez ici pour en savoir plus sur les façons de donner.

Find holiday warmth in a new video offering from Camerata Nova

Visin, Visin, Visin is the final installment in a trio of early-music pandemic recordings we’ve been working on.

In Camerata Nova’s version of Visin, Visin, Visin we hear many voices, blending in a rich tapestry of sonic warmth. This early music “hit” has never looked so cool – cool as the icy expanse of a Manitoban Winter. The chiding and intimate subject matter of the music, based on a raunchy Venetian Carnival song of the 15th century, creates a stark, albeit powerful contrast with this lonely visual. Perhaps we can imagine ourselves as the pilgrim, trudging through a cold and unforgiving pandemic. We are seemingly alone, but zoom out for a broader perspective, and we are surrounded by a chorus of voices!

This Advent season, may we be reminded that we do not celebrate alone and without comfort, just as we are not alone in surviving the pandemic. The voices of those who care for us are closer than we think, and a warm hut is waiting to offer us refuge through a stormy night.

Translation:
Hey there, who wants to have their chimney swept?
Let us sweep them, lady!
Who wants them swept inside, who wants them tidy?
Those who can’t pay can give us bread or wine.

Song Notes:A group of chimney sweeps call out in this raunchy Venetian carnival song from the late 15th century. They need work, for which they will gladly accept bread or wine in lieu of payment. But in a text filled with double entendre, they are also angling for an invitation to intimacy. Work, bread, wine and some willing company…who can ask for anything more?

Credits:
Sarah Sommer – Soprano
Dan Rochegood – Alto
Justin Odwak – Tenor
Matt Knight – Bass
Al Schroeder – Overtones
Mike, Scott, Matt, Dan – G Drones

Roland Deschambault – Video and editing
Phil Deschambault – Sound recording and mixing

Donate Now Through CanadaHelps.org!

Camerata Nova is a registered not-for-profit charitable organization. Exploring, taking risks, and developing exciting new programming, takes time, energy, and money.
Or, click here to find out more about donating.

<Traduction>

Visin, Visin, Visin :
Dans la version de Visin, Visin, Visin de Camerata Nova, nous entendons de nombreuses voix, qui se mêlent en de riches harmonies. Ce « succès » de musique ancienne n’a jamais été aussi rafraîchissant – comme les étendues glacées d’un hiver manitobain. Le sujet de la musique, à la fois intimiste et criard, basé sur une chanson de carnaval vénitien du 15e siècle, crée un contraste saisissant, bien que puissant, avec ce visuel solitaire. Peut-être pouvons-nous nous imaginer comme le pèlerin, se frayant un chemin à travers une pandémie froide et impitoyable? Nous sommes apparemment seuls, mais nous nous éloignons pour avoir une perspective plus large, et nous sommes entourés d’un chœur de voix, nous sentant peut-être nous aussi isolés et désireux d’avoir de la compagnie.

En cette période de l’Avent, permettez-nous de nous rappeler que nous ne célébrons pas seuls et sans confort, tout comme nous ne sommes pas seuls à survivre à la pandémie. Les voix de ceux et celles qui prennent soin de nous sont plus proches que nous ne le pensons, et une hutte chaude nous attend pour nous offrir un refuge pendant une nuit d’orage.

Traduction:
Hé, qui veut faire ramoner sa cheminée?
Laissez-nous les ramoner, madame!
Qui veut les faire ramoner à l’intérieur, qui veut qu’elles soient bien propres?
Ceux (celles) qui ne peuvent pas payer peuvent nous donner du pain ou du vin.

Notes au sujet de la chanson:
Un groupe de ramoneurs s’écrie dans cette chanson de carnaval vénitien de la fin du 15e siècle. Ils ont besoin de travail, pour lequel ils acceptent volontiers du pain ou du vin en guise de paiement. Mais dans ce texte à double sens, ils recherchent aussi une invitation à l’intimité. Du travail, du pain, du vin et un peu de compagnie… qui peut demander plus?

Générique:
Sarah Sommer – Soprano
Dan Rochegood – Alto
Justin Odwak – Ténor
Matt Knight – Basse
Al Schroeder – Harmonique
Mike, Scott, Matt, Dan – Bourdons en G

Roland Deschambault – vidéographie et photographie
Phil Deschambault – enregistrement et mixage sonore, édition vidéo 

Donate Now Through CanadaHelps.org!

Faites un don par CanaDon.org!

Camerata Nova est un organisme de bienfaisance enregistré. Explorer, prendre des risques et développer des programmes passionnants – tout cela demande du temps, de l’énergie et de l’argent.
Ou cliquez ici pour en savoir plus sur les façons de donner.

It’s Giving Tuesday! Help us create and innovate

Thank you for your commitment to Camerata Nova as a subscriber, casual ticket holder, donor, scholarship recipient, singer, volunteer, advertiser, socials follower, guest artist, and friend. We appreciate each and every one of you.

Although we’ve cancelled three concerts this year and remain at a social distance for now, we are very much looking to presenting live music again once restrictions have lifted.

For Camerata Nova, there have been serious silver linings to Covid. It has led us to explore video productions and build new on-line audiences. We invite you to watch our experimental videos and keep your eyes open for new content coming your way!

As thrilling as these videos are to create, they do not generate revenue. We are grateful to the on-going support of funding agencies, key foundations, and you, who are keeping us alive in a year of turmoil.

We need your support more than ever – not just to survive, but to grow, re-invent ourselves and contribute to our community.

Traditionally, the funds generated from our annual appeal go to our Northern Manitoba Music Access Program, in which our musicians travel to musically underserved communities. This year, your donation will go towards another meaningful component of our Music Access program that offers shared experiences to children, youth, seniors, and/or those living with disabilities.

Once it is safe to present live performances again, we plan to provide free concert admission to these under-supported audiences and others who might not have the resources to otherwise attend or have been impacted by social isolation due to the pandemic. Your donation in will ensure that all in our community can reconnect soon and share in the joy and beauty of a live choral concert!

In the meantime, watch the videos, and keep checking our website for any updated content and other surprises. We miss you, and we look forward to seeing you in 2021! 

You can support the choir safely and securely with a tax-deductible donation anytime throughout the year

Donate Now Through CanadaHelps.org!

Camerata Nova is a registered not-for-profit charitable organization. Exploring, taking risks, and developing exciting new programming, takes time, energy, and money.
Or, click here to find out more about donating.

 

Nous vous remercions de votre engagement envers Camerata Nova en tant qu’abonné, détenteur occasionnel de billets, donateur, boursier, chanteur, bénévole, annonceur, adepte des médias sociaux, artiste invité et ami. Nous apprécions chacun et chacune d’entre vous.

Bien que nous ayons annulé trois concerts cette année et que nous restions à distance sociale pour l’instant, nous sommes très impatients de présenter à nouveau de la musique en direct une fois les restrictions levées.

Pour Camerata Nova, la COVID-19 a eu des retombées positives malgré tout. La situation nous a amenés à explorer les productions vidéo et à constituer un nouveau public en ligne. Nous vous invitons à regarder nos vidéos expérimentales et à garder l’œil ouvert pour de nouveaux contenus à venir!

Aussi passionnantes que soient ces vidéos à créer, elles ne génèrent pas de revenus. Nous sommes reconnaissants aux organismes de financement, aux principales fondations et à vous, qui nous aidez pendant cette année turbulente.

Nous avons plus que jamais besoin de votre soutien, non seulement pour survivre, mais aussi pour nous épanouir, nous réinventer et contribuer à notre communauté.

Traditionnellement, les fonds générés par notre appel de fonds annuel vont à notre Programme d’accès à la musique pour le Nord du Manitoba, dans le cadre duquel certains de nos artistes se rendent dans des communautés mal desservies sur le plan musical. Cette année, votre don sera affecté à un autre volet important de notre Programme d’accès à la musique, qui offre des expériences partagées aux enfants, aux jeunes, aux personnes âgées et/ou aux personnes handicapées.

Quand il sera à nouveau possible de présenter des spectacles en direct en toute sécurité, nous prévoyons d’offrir une entrée gratuite à ces publics insuffisamment soutenus et à d’autres personnes qui n’auraient pas les ressources nécessaires pour y assister autrement ou qui ont été touchées par l’isolement social dû à la pandémie. Grâce à votre don, tous les membres de notre communauté pourront bientôt se retrouver et partager la joie et la beauté d’un concert choral en direct!

En attendant, regardez les vidéos, et continuez à consulter notre site Web pour toute mise à jour du contenu et d’autres surprises. Vous nous manquez, et nous espérons vous revoir en 2021! 

Donate Now Through CanadaHelps.org!

Faites un don par CanaDon.org!

Camerata Nova est un organisme de bienfaisance enregistré. Explorer, prendre des risques et développer des programmes passionnants – tout cela demande du temps, de l’énergie et de l’argent.
Ou cliquez ici pour en savoir plus sur les façons de donner.

Andrew Balfour performs Notinikew with The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir

Photo: Aaron Vincent Elkaim, The Globe and Mail

Composer Andrew Balfour, is the founder and artistic director of Camerata Nova.
AARON VINCENT ELKAIM/THE GLOBE AND MAIL

On Wednesday, November 11, Camerata Nova’s Artistic Director, Andrew Balfour, is lending his talents to an inspiring Remembrance Day performance with The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. The program offers a Choral Perspective of Canada’s Indigenous Veterans and welcomes Andrew as the guest curator, as well as longtime Camerata Nova collaborator, cellist, and composer Cris Derkson.

The program will reflect on the Indigenous experience through music, dance and poetry, and is centred around Andrew’s choral drama, Notinikew (Going to War). Movements of the work will be sung by Andrew’s Winnipeg-based Camerata Nova and by the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir.

Andrew says of this choral drama:

Notinikew is an anti-war piece, an indigenous identity piece – a tragedy that speaks not just about World War I, but all wars and all indigenous soldiers. Why did these Indigenous warriors leave our forests and plains to enter a totally foreign military world and end up fighting in the midst of a true hell on earth?

The concert is a FREE event and will be featured via Livestream at 8:00 p.m. EST. Find out more about the program and performers on the event poster or concert webpage.

Learn the story behind Andrew’s Notinikew here.

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Camerata Nova is a registered not-for-profit charitable organization. Exploring, taking risks, and developing exciting new programming, takes time, energy, and money.
Or, click here to find out more about donating.

Camerata Nova finds new inspiration during pandemic

Choristers Mike Thompson and Scott Reimer at a recent recording session at the St. Norbert Arts Centre (SNAC)

The popular Winnipeg choral ensemble, separated from each other and their audiences by COVID-19, is using new methods to connect and share music

There’s never been a year quite like 2020. For musicians around the world, the arrival of COVID-19 met that their performance schedules suddenly emptied. However, in the wake of shutdowns, quarantines, and social distancing, musicians have taken their shows to social media, providing much-needed levity during an otherwise serious time. Winnipeg’s Camerata Nova, especially, proves that the show must go on.

The popular choral ensemble is a musical institution in Winnipeg is known as much for its gorgeous arrangements of classical works as it is for its concerts featuring new Indigenous and contemporary music. The group, founded in 1996, features a number of Desautels Faculty of Music graduates and employees, and performs in venues across the city, ranging from churches to concert halls to bars, and has produced four albums. With their anticipated spring and fall 2020 seasons suddenly canceled, Camerata Nova sought to find new ways to collaborate during the pandemic, and bring music to their dedicated audiences. Fortunately, their members have a talent for more than just music, and made the transition with ease – turning to videos to bring music into our homes.

Read the rest of the story at UM Today News

View our current recording projects below!

 

Donate Now Through CanadaHelps.org!

Camerata Nova is a registered not-for-profit charitable organization. Exploring, taking risks, and developing exciting new programming, takes time, energy, and money.
Or, click here to find out more about donating.