1C
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, AUGUST 18, 2017
CONTACT US
Erick Bengel | Features Editor
ebengel@dailyastorian.com
WEEKEND
BREAK
FOLLOW US
facebook.com/
DailyAstorian
Connecting through music in Barcelona
Astoria’s North Coast
Chorale sings songs
of peace in Spain
By DENISE REED
For EO Media Group
A
brief encounter with another
human being via music is some-
times worth weeks of encounters
via words.
In late December 2016, the North
Coast Chorale, of which I am the conduc-
tor, received an invitation from the Inter-
national Federation of Choral Music, an
organization that holds a World Sympo-
sium on Choral Music every three years in
different locations around the world. The
11th symposium was to be held in Bar-
celona, Spain, and we were to be part of
a special new series called “Circle Con-
certs,” held in various venues in and
around the city.
This seemed like a wonderful opportu-
nity for a small choir from a small commu-
nity in the Pacifi c Northwest. The crucial
requirement was that we present music
refl ecting the symposium’s theme: The
Colors of Peace.
The main problem was fi nancial: Sev-
eral chorale members were unable to
fi nance a singing trip such as this. But with
the help of devoted supporters and com-
munity members, we were able to get to
Barcelona and represent Astoria, sharing
our songs of peace.
I arrived on the afternoon of July 17
after several long fl ights. Barcelona is
a bustling city with a very diverse cos-
mopolitan atmosphere and a vibrant his-
tory of choral music. In the late 1800s,
José Anselmo Clavé, the composer who
founded the choral movement in Spain,
had established a choral group of farm-
ers and woodcutters. He came up with the
idea of encouraging the local workforce to
exchange their leisure time in the taverns
for choir practice.
Some North Coast Chorale members,
including myself, were also performing
with a touring choir, the Jonathan Griffi th
Singers, which do not sing together reg-
ularly but come together under a distin-
guished choir director, Jonathan Griffi th,
and perform major choral works in ven-
ues all over the world. By coincidence, the
two groups performed in and around Bar-
celona on overlapping days.
During the North Coast Chorale’s con-
cert, there were concerts by other groups
taking place in Barcelona, including at the
main symposium venue, L’auditori, a part
of the Barcelona University system.
Submitted Photos
Denise Reed (left), conductor of the North Coast Chorale, with Phyllis Taylor (center) and Cheryl Capellen. The three woman
are North Coast Chorale singers who also performed with the Jonathan Griffith Singers in Barcelona at the same time.
Music of peace
The North Coast Chorale’s fi rst concert,
on July 22, was at Sant Pere de les Puelles, a
16th century chapel in Barcelona. We only
performed half of our “Peace” repertoire,
as we shared the venue with the Shanghai
Children’s Chorus who performed most of
their repertoire in Mandarin or Cantonese.
They were very well prepared, and their
performance was exceptional.
Our performance was also well
received and an enjoyable experience for
the Chorale members, who connected
with strangers through sharing our music.
We — the North Coast Chorale and the
Shanghai Childrens’ Chorus — were able
to connect through the music, though we
could not understand every word. It was
the music that connected us, and our emo-
tional delivery that revealed our meaning.
At our second concert, on July 24, we
performed the entire “Journey in Peace”
program that we had performed for our
Astoria audience in early June. The loca-
tion was just as beautiful as our fi rst venue,
and the acoustics were amazing.
It was a small chapel, the Capella de
l’Esperança, in another area of Barce-
lona. On this occasion, we delivered our
message of peace to an audience of cho-
ral directors from many different countries
and Catalonian community members. We
received a standing ovation. One of the
volunteers working for the International
Federation of Choral Music at our venue
thanked me for bringing this choir to share
this music with the symposium and our
audience.
Maybe it’s something that only I recog-
nized, but the international audience was
one of the most receptive I have experi-
enced. Our music as a community choir
was less sophisticated than most of the
other professional groups, but it seemed
closer to the style and content of the music
of the Catalonian choirs.
What I enjoyed most was the diver-
sity of choirs from different cultures and
countries, and how they expressed them-
selves musically. I experienced exhibi-
tions, lectures and presentations, and a
The North Coast Chorale sings during its final concert at the Capella de l’Esperança, a chapel in Barcelona.
The Shanghai Childrens’ Chorus
variety of glorious music. Many concerts
were performed at such historical places as
the Sagrada Familia and the Paulau de la
Musica Catalana. I left word with the fed-
eration offi cials that Astoria and the North
Coast Chorale would be more than willing
to host any of the choirs that might under-
take an American tour.
Singing for life
I had a chance to speak with the fed-
eration president who said this was the
fi rst year they had offered the opportu-
nity for choirs to participate in the “Circle
Concerts.” Their purpose: to continue the
concept of community choirs, since these
offer the opportunity to continue singing
for life.
And that, he said, is what singing in
choral organizations was all about, and
what the International Federation of Cho-
ral Music is about: Raising the awareness
of the need for Choral music in every com-
munity around the world.
So Astoria: We carried our message
of peace halfway around the world and
connected on a personal level with peo-
ple we may never meet again. But, even
if we connected with only one person, we
accomplished our goal.
Thanks to our many community sup-
porters who offered fi nancial help and
words of encouragement. We could not
have made this “Journey in Peace” with-
out you.
Please consider joining the Chorale this
fall as we continue to connect with more
people in our community. Rehearsals are
at 6:45 p.m. Tuesdays beginning Sept. 5 at
Clatsop Community College Performing
Arts Center at Franklin Avenue and 16th
Street.
Denise Reed is the conductor
of the North Coast Chorale and a
member of the Oregon Humanities
Board of Directors. She teaches
opera and music appreciation, along with
world music and the histories of some
of America’s popular styles of music at
Clatsop and Tillamook Bay community
colleges.