An Invitation from our Music Director

September 2007

Dear Choral Music Lovers

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to this exciting season. The Cantata Singers of Ottawa is very proud to have been performing excellent choral music for 44 years, and I am honoured to be at the helm of this thriving and enthusiastic organization.

Our 44th season has many choral gems ready for you, starting with our upcoming performances of a cappella masterworks at the Sacred Music Festival in Ottawa, at St. James Anglican in Perth and at St Paul’s Anglican church in Kanata. Mendelssohn, Bach, Monteverdi and Poulenc are among the prolific composers featured in our program. Laudate – Jubilate – Cantate showcases some of the most moving musical settings of the Book of Psalms.

In the second half of the season we will present three concerts of very different character. Each performance features distinguished guest artists from Canada and abroad. These concerts are not to be missed; our collaboration with these renowned musicians is unique in the performing arts scene of Ottawa.

Faire is the Heaven promises to be a vibrant and eclectic evening, adding the shining and shimmering sounds of our featured guest Capital BrassWorks. Rutter’s Gloria, our joyful centre piece, is framed by works of the master of English music composition.

The internationally acclaimed Vancouver Chamber Choir under the direction of Jon Washburn, is "...one of the finest ensembles in the world." (CHORUS! Magazine), and will be our guest in Canadian Connections. This is an event you can’t miss, as the Vancouver Chamber Choir is rarely heard in the Capital region. (To accommodate your schedule during a workweek, please note the earlier starting time.)

Our choral travel around the world continues! The third installment of our Soundscape series will feature the music of Scandinavia. The Nordic countries have much in common, starting with dark winters and light summers, to their unique love for vocal music. In A Scandinavian Soundscape we will present to you these various aspects of Iceland, Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark, and our Scandinavian guests will immerse you in eclectic sounds.

You might, dear listener, remember our Canadian Soundscape concert two seasons ago, and the young fiddlers and step-dancers, Ella and Tessa Bangs. I am very happy to tell you that Ella was spotted at that concert by a Cirque du Soleil Talent Scout, and is now touring as the lead role in Cirque’s show Quidam. We are of course very proud that our concert acted as platform for the discovery of a young artist.

Our pre-concert talks will be held as well this season. Your response to these events was very positive and I am grateful that you seek out the opportunity to be informed about the works we perform and their composers.

I wish you a wonderful autumn and look forward to welcoming you at our next concert.

Michael Zaugg, Music Director

(GST of 6% is included in the ticket price.)

For tickets for the concerts in the choir's concert series, or for further information, please send an e-mail message to csoinfo (at) cantatasingersottawa.ca or phone the choir at 613-798-7113. You may purchase season's tickets at the door at our first concert in February.

Tickets for these concerts may also be purchased from any choir member and at the following locations as the concert draws near:

• The Leading Note
  • 370 Elgin Street (613-569-7888)
• Compact Music
  • 190 Bank Street (downtown) (613-233-7626)
  • 785½ Bank Street (in the Glebe) (613-233-8922)
• CD Warehouse
  • 1383 Clyde Avenue (613-225-9027)
  • 1717 St. Laurent Boulevard (613-523-0110)
  • 499 Terry Fox Drive (613-599-4700)