In Monday’s (2/24) Ottawa Citizen (Canada), Peter Robb writes, “There are very few ways to become a star for a day in Ottawa, but you can get pretty close to the experience by joining one of several talented choirs. And three, or more, times a year you could stand on the stage of Southam Hall and sing your heart out, directed by Pinchas Zukerman, one of the great conductors of our time alongside one of Canada’s best orchestras in a merging of the amateur and professional worlds. Not too shabby, that. This week, a combined choir of 148 voices will sweat the small stuff before performing the 15-minute long masterpiece by Johannes Brahms called Schicksalslied on Feb. 26 and Feb. 27.” The chorus is directed by “Duain Wolfe, who is the chorus master with the Chicago Symphony … Wolfe, who has a couple of Grammys under his belt, says he enjoys the challenge of working with an amateur choir. ‘The thing that I like so much is that the amateur singer is absolutely passionate about whatever it is we are doing. That brings something to the performance that is very exciting, particularly in combination with the professional musicians on stage who are so accomplished.’ ”
Posted February 25, 2014
