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Nancy Telfer, Jon Washburn, and Larry INTERVIEW
Nickel have each forged unique paths to be-

come distinguished figures in the world of cho- WITH
ral music. Each interviewee received the same
seven questions with the option to answer only
the questions that interested them. Together, 3
their replies provide a fascinating glimpse into
the individual paths they have taken, along with
their sometimes disparate personal perspectives
about composers and choral music today. This is
part one in a two-part interview series. Part two CANADIAN
will feature interviews with Canadian compos-
ers: Matthew Emery, Sarah Quartel, Kelly-Ma- CHORAL
rie Murphy, Laura Hawley, and Tracy Wong.
COMPOSERS

D. Geoff rey Bell
www.dgeoff reybell.com BY D. GEOFFREY BELL

LARRY NICKEL is an associate composer of the Canadian Music Centre, a choral clini-
cian, festival adjudicator, teacher, singer, music minister, and conductor. He was a high school

performing arts teacher for twenty-five years and directed over fifty stage productions, includ-
ing Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. Nickel has been a low bass singer with some of the fi nest
choirs in Vancouver. He is a prolific composer with hundreds of works for choir. He was the

co-founder of the West Coast Mennonite Chamber Choir (directed by Tony Funk), which
recorded thirteen CDs over fifteen years. The choir raised over a million dollars through CD

sales, and the proceeds were donated to MCC Supportive Care Services, a charity for men-
tally disadvantaged people.

NANCY TELFER is a Canadian composer who received her formal education at the Uni-
versity of Western Ontario, where she concentrated on music education, composition, piano,
and voice. After teaching public school for several years, she worked full time as a composer.
Since 1979 she has composed more than 500 works for soloists, chamber ensembles, orches-
tras, bands, and choirs. Telfer has also written a number of articles and method books to guide
choral conductors in their professional development.

JON WASHBURN is the founder and conductor emeritus of the Vancouver Chamber
Choir. Well known internationally for his mastery of choral technique and interpretation,
Washburn travels widely as a guest conductor, lecturer, clinician, and master teacher. As a
conductor of the Baroque repertory, he has led over 300 performances of more than eighty
large works. He has taught at the secondary, college, and university levels, including time as
artist-in-residence at Simon Fraser University. He was also artistic director of the Phoenix
Bach Choir, an American professional ensemble, for six years in the 1990s.

CHORAL JOURNAL April 2021 Volume 61 Number 9 43