Welcome to the Nordic Choral Directors Conference in Copenhagen and Malmö October 2nd 4th, 2015

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1 Welcome to the Nordic Choral Directors Conference in Copenhagen and Malmö October 2nd 4th, 2015 The year s big event for choral directors has been expanded to a Nordic choral directors conference in cooperation with all the Nordic choral directors associations. There are a lot of common factors in Nordic choral life, but there are also differences. At this year s conference we want to both focus on what brings us together as well as let ourselves be inspired by our differences. Please read on for a short presentation of the key points in the programme, which we hope will entice you to register immediately for the event on our website www. korledare.se. Complete and detailed programme will be available September The conference starts in Copenhagen on Friday October 2nd at 1pm and finishes at lunchtime in Malmö on Sunday October 4th. Ensemble SYD, photo: Emil Malmborg Opening The boards of the choral directors associations will welcome everyone to Copenhagen where the conference will open with a grand concert featuring professional choirs Musica Ficta from Denmark conducted by Bo Holten and Ensemble SYD from Sweden conducted by Daniel Hansson. At the concert, a new work by Bent Sørensen, especially written for Ensemble SYD, will be performed. Music from the 150-year anniversary of Carl Nielsen will of course also be included in the programme. Ensemble SYD forms a new and exciting platform for professional choir singing at Malmö University in cooperation with The Southern Choral Centre. Focus will be placed on the contemporary Nordic repertoire with an emphasis on key choral pieces that have placed choral music on the region s professional music scene. Marianne Jelved, Denmark s Minister of Culture, is invited to hold an opening speech. Children and Song in the Nordic Countries inspiration and future The EU project VOICE A Voice for Vocal Training has coordinated representatives from countries throughout Europe at two conferences in 2013 and 2015 to collect knowledge and experiences of singing with children and young people. Representatives from the Nordic countries have been invited and want to further discuss issues about how awareness of singing with KÖRLEDAREN 1

2 children and young people can be raised and how teaching competence can be developed in our Nordic countries. Contributors include Gunnel Fagius, coordinator of the Child and Song Project, Sweden, Dorte Bille, Choral Director for MidtVest Girls Choir and coordinator for education at The Jutlantic School of Singing, Denmark, and Ulrika Bergroth-Plur, General Secretary of the project Music at Schools, Norway. Workshop Musik by Carl Nielsen All of 150 years have passed since the Danish composer Carl Nielsen was born, and the occasion is colouring concert life throughout Denmark this year. In this workshop, Michael Bojesen will present selected pieces of Nielsen s music, arranged for mixed choirs. Transport to Malmö After the above events in Copenhagen, conference participants will be transported by bus to Malmö Live, where we will eat dinner and check into the Clarion Collection Malmö Live Hotel. There will also be an opportunity to visit the music exhibition in the Kubenfoajén before the evening s concert begins. Concert God in Disguise. Malmö Symphony Orchestra (MSO) will be opening the doors of their new concert hall Malmö Live and inviting us to experience a Nordic masterpiece: God in Disguise by Lars-Erik Larsson. The School of Music in Lund, which was named after this composer, performs this work annually and as few have the chance to make music together with the MSO and all the alumni students, we can expect a large choir to be standing in the new choir gallery. The Lars-Erik Larsson School of Music s choir is conducted by Sofia Söderberg Eberhard and the concert will also include music written by Swedish female composers. Midnight concert Petri Sångare and Carl Adam Landström Petri Sångare is a mixed chamber choir affiliated with the St. Petri Church in Malmö. The choir s performance is characterised by a round and light choral sound with a strong musical and lyrical presence. The choir was founded by artistic director and conductor Alexander Einarsson in The choir is known for its high ambitions and the intensive interaction between the choristers and their conductor. Attention was brought to the choir in December 2010 in connection with the opening of the Malmö City Tunnel when the choir, accompanied by an orchestra and soloists, performed JS Bach s Juloratorium at the Malmö Central Station. In 2014 the choir won two first prizes at the International Krakow Choir Festival. Organist CarlAdam Landström has become well known for his imaginative improvisations, and on this late night you will be able to enjoy his approach to Nordic melodies. Repertoire Presentation New choral music from the publishers will be presented by Helene Stureborg and Karin Oldgren, and the presentation will of course involve all conference participants singing together. 2 KÖRLEDAREN Petri sångare, photo: Georg Weiss

3 Karin Oldgren, photo: Sensus Helene Stureborg, photo: Erika Berglöf Seminar The future of choral life Nordic youngsters on the future A group of youngsters from the Nordic countries, who are on their way into the choral world, have been out investigating choral life, attending concerts and visiting choirs. What tips do these youngsters have to give to established choral life? Which aspects of choral life are worth preserving for future generations? An interesting panel discussion is promised for everyone who is curious about what the future holds. for the training of a centred and balanced voice called the Grain of the Voice, which is the ideal base for musical freedom and technical opulence in all genres of singing. Once the Grain of the Voice is established the singer s personal sound resonates clearly and the voice gets a noticeably wider vocal range and strength. Anne Rosing is a singing instructor and a vocal coach. She has worked for 17 years as a lecturer at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, the Opera Academy and at the Music Institute of Copenhagen. She teaches a large number of the Danish singing elite. Female voices reflect Nordic music Schola Cantorums Women s Choir, Copenhagen, Carolinae Women s Choir Lund, and the Women s Choir of the Malmö Academy of Music perform a concert programme especially composed for the occasion. The women s choirs include both traditional Nordic music arranged for female voices as well as a selection of newly composed music. The conductors are Sigrid Damsager Frandsen, Ulrika Emanuelson and Lena Ekman Frisk. Workshop Rhythmic Choir Morten Vinther became The Real Group s new baritone singer in 2010 and has experience from a long line Morten Vinther, photo: MinOn Concert Association of cappella groups, such as the Danish Vox 11, Postyr Project and VoxNorth as well as the Nordic improvisation group Songs of the Moment. This workshop will give you new ideas and tools to help develop a choir s knowledge of contemporary music. Morten also gives tips and ideas on the teaching methods for songs and how all participants can test ideas out for themselves. Workshop Renaissance music Choral director Kari Turunen is one of Finland s leading experts in early music and he has a PhD on the subject. He is also a member of the vocal ensemble Lumen Valo that almost Workshop Anne Rosing Method The Anne Rosing Method is a singing technique that is based on two concepts: the Grain of the Voice and the Singing Body. It takes the basis that the body is an instrument on equal footing with the singing voice. The Singing Body is the foundation Carolinae Women s Choir, photo: Eva Sjögren KÖRLEDAREN 3

4 entirely focuses on music within this genre. He directs several exceptional choirs such as the men s choirs Akademiska Sångföreningen and the Spira Ensemble. He is a sought after teacher of choral conducting and conductor on many different occasions and programmes. Kari Turunen is also the chairperson of the Finland Choral Director s Association. In 2008 he was chosen as the Choral Director of the Year in Finland. Beehive discussion groups Discussion forums and information in smaller groups. Choose between the following six: 1. American Reading Sessions Experience the latest trends in American choral music. Kimberly Dunn Adams, Western Michigan University (USA) and Dominick DiOrio, Indiana University Jacobs School (USA). Two of the American participants in the International Conductors Exchange Program between Sweden and USA 2015 will be presenting choral music that is primarily aimed at church choirs and chamber choirs. A lot of the repertoire is not well-known in the Nordic countries. Featuring music by, among others, Abbie Betinis, David Conte, Dominick DiOrio, Stacey Gibbs, Michael Gilbertson, David Lang and Alice Parker. Participants attending the session will be given, free of charge, a selection of written music from the current repertoire. This workshop is being held in cooperation with FSK and SWICCO (Swedish International Choral Centre), and ACDA (American Choral Directors Association) are responsible for the programme as part of the ICEP (International Conductors Exchange Program) between Sweden and USA Searching for written music on the internet. Music publishers inform participants of new ways you can find the music you are looking for online. 3: Exchange programme speed dating Speed dating provides an opportunity for choral directors to network with each other regarding repertoire and choral exchanges. Are you looking for new repertoire for your choir? Have you got a favourite piece you would love to recommend? Would you like your choir to visit another choir in another country or do some kind of exchange? If any of this sounds interesting, then this is the perfect event for you. 4: Practice at home ScorX A real lift for your choir! ScorX helps your choristers practice at home. Lillemor Bodin Carlson from the Choir Academy gives instructions and information. 5: Communication in Choirs and Song. AVaCO is an interdisciplinary research group that has examined how communication takes place between singers in vocal ensembles and between singers and audiences. The group consists of Sverker Zadig, Karin Johansson, Ursula Geisler, Viveka Lyberg Åhlander and Sara Wilén, some of whom will be here to present the project. 6: Brazilian Choir Music (with a Swedish beat) Dr David Junker from the University of Brasilia presents Brazilian choral music and reflects on its similarities and differences to Nordic choral traditions. The University of Brasilia has an exchange programme with the Örebro Academy of Music and David is in Sweden for his third exchange period. Cecilia Martin Löf, photo: Mikael Risedal Concert Night to Day Are we good or are we evil? Is life sad or happy? Enjoyment or pain? Through music, dance and acrobatic capers we show a day on Earth with everything that exists of exuberant beauty and unabashed egotism. A New Circus Opera about the double nature of people, and about the light and dark sides of life. Palaestra Vocal Ensemble meets circus artists and string instrumentalists from Bastard Barock. Together they promise a newly created performance on life and people under the direction of conductor Cecilia Martin Löf. Banquet All conference participants are invited to a banquet by Malmö City. During the dinner, scholarships will be awarded to the Choral Conductor of the Year and the Children and Young People s Choral Conductor of the Year. The jewel in the crown of this evening will be the opportunity to dance to Roger Berg s Big Band and their vocal trio. Swing from the 1930s and 40s is on the menu. 4 KÖRLEDAREN

5 Sofia Söderberg Eberhard, photo: Charlotte T Strömwall Workshop Song! The majority of choral directors started out as choristers, which is perhaps where they got their passion for singing. Once the move is made to the other side of the music stand, many directors stop singing actively in a choir. This is a great pity, because we make better choral directors if we at times ask ourselves what it is like to sing in a choir. So here is your chance! Sing along in the Choral Directors Conference Choir where we can all let ourselves be inspired by music we can use ourselves while being conducted by Sofia Söderberg Eberhard s experienced hand. Final event Touché Representatives from the Nordic Association of Choral Directors summarise their strongest impressions from the conference together with moderator Martin Martinsson. Danish jazz choir Touché performs their arrangement for Vocal Big Band conducted by Jesper Holm as the closing performance of the conference. Register for the Nordic Choral Directors Conference in Copenhagen/Malmö October 2nd 4th, 2015 The registration fee for the conference is SEK As a member of a Nordic Choral Directors Association you are entitled to a discount if you register early. If you register before June 24th, you are entitled to a SEK 1000 discount and only need to pay SEK If you register before August 18th, you are entitled to a SEK 500 discount and only need to pay SEK Included in the fee are all concerts, seminars, workshops, all meals, morning and afternoon coffee, and transport between Copenhagen and Malmö on the Friday afternoon. Register for the conference here: Students There are also discounted fees for students: If you are a student and register before September 11th, you only need to pay SEK 1000, after this date you need to pay the full fee of SEK To contribute to the networking between young choral focused students Southern Choral Center created a group from Malmo Academy of Music, that will organise Coach surfing. Stay overnight for free october 2-4. A limited number of beds will be available. If you are interested in this, contact Emma Persson at choircouchsurfing@gmail.com. Welcome to Malmö! Swedish and Danish Choral Directors Associations KÖRLEDAREN 5