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INTERVIEW WITH 3 CANADIAN CHORAL COMPOSERS

1) Each person follows a unique musical path. me learn how to look at a score in a way to imagine
Sometimes there are mentors or musical pro- realistically how that score would sound. For example,
grams that make a significant, positive con- when the altos have the melody, do they have enough

tribution along the way. Tell us about key mo- space around their part to let them cut through the
ments in your own musical journey. other voices?

NICKEL: Four-part choral singing used to be ubiq-
uitous with the Mennonite Church. I sang alto with “
Hearing a choir perform your
Mom at church and first soprano in the church chil- Hearing a choir perfor m y our

usic is both de
v
o
wn m
astating
dren’s choir, directed by Holda Fast (who also used to own music is both devastating
sing in the Vancouver Chamber Choir). Table grace, and e xhilarating and (more
and exhilarating and (more
family reunions, and driving to the Okanagan for va- signi fi cantl y) g reat motiv ation to
significantly) great motivation to
cation were always accompanied with singing. I took
e
k
w
p
orking at the craft.
e

piano lessons from age five to nine. Then Mom and keep working at the craft.
Dad became missionaries to India and there was a ”
—Larry Nickelel
long period of choral music drought. I was dedicat- —Lar r y Nick
ed to sports until I ripped out my knee cartilage while
running through a monsoon downpour. Bob Granner
came from the States to our school and was a choir It is important for composers to think like perform-
enthusiast—a true inspiration to me. I renewed pi- ers. Before I started composing, I already had many
ano lessons and sang at every opportunity. I started connections because I started out as a choral teacher
“inventing” music on an accordion for puppet shows! and conductor. In my early twenties, I was asked to
Returning to Canada in 1970, after graduating from sit on a national committee of choral conductors be-
high school, I formed a folk-rock band and worked in cause the work I was doing as a children’s choir con-
a recording studio as a performer and arranger while ductor and my knowledge of good quality repertoire
starting studies at UBC. Professor Cortland Hult- was already well known. Today I would recommend
berg asked me to join the chamber singers, and it was that a young conductor or composer who has already
shocking to realize how much I needed to learn! proven himself/herself be added to committees and
boards at the state and national levels. Everyone wins
TELFER: When I was a student at Western Univer- from the exchange of fresh ideas and long-time expe-
sity (Canada), the performing library contained over rience.
1,000 choral pieces from all time periods, chosen by
very fine conductors to use with the choral ensembles WASHBURN: In a way, I want to answer that I’ve

there. Gradually I studied each piece on my own, ask- been influenced by everyone I’ve ever worked with,
ing myself two questions: 1. Why is this a great piece even the poor musicians and the boring ones, and cer-
of music? (e.g., a piece by Brahms might have beauti- tainly all the students I’ve had and the singers in my
ful climaxes); 2. How did that composer do that? (e.g., choirs. I’ve often said that one’s choir is—de facto—
how long he made each build-up, how he created the one’s main conducting teacher.
height of each climax). Gathering insight and skills I’m always surprised when I ask young grads how
from the greatest composers was an enjoyable and many truly great teachers they have had in their stud-
exciting way to learn the craft of musicality. And it ies. Many say none, which always saddens me. How

helped me to understand what composing was really can one evaluate one’s own efforts if you’ve never
about. experienced great, inspired teaching? I was lucky. In
I learned from Ken Bray that music can look good eight or nine years at four universities, I had three
on the page but not sound great in reality. He helped great teachers: an English teacher, a theory teacher,

44 CHORAL JOURNAL April 2021 Volume 61 Number 9