An interview with the Director - Part 3 - Milestones and Moments

An interview with Pierre Massie - Director and founder of The Stairwell Carollers - on the choir's 40th Anniversary

Part 3 - Milestones and Moments   

(this post appears originally in the Stairwell Carollers Choir Blog)

                     Part 1              Part 2

I understand that the first half of your choir's 40th Anniversary season was a rousing success, with record- breaking Xmas concert attendance, CD sales, and a special 40th anniversary $3000 donation to the Shepherds of Good Hope.  Could you share a few thoughts on what the Anniversary Christmas season has meant to you.  

I had a very good feeling about the first part of our 40th season.  I'm thrilled that our audience has increased over the years.  For me, standing there singing with the choir, it was really special.  I loved hearing what our guest MCs said about their experiences with the Stairwell Carollers. "Brought a tear to me eye".

 To finish off the 40th season, I understand you have programmed a special May workshop and concert in Arnprior. Could  you tell us a bit about that, why the workshop, why Arnprior, and who have you invited as your guest facilitator.  

I was looking for a workshop retreat where choir members could spend several days in full choral mode. A chance to absorb and learn and grow. To get that experience, we needed a venue that was away from home base.  In our research we found a gorgeous nature retreat in Arnprior.  It's the perfect setting to focus while enjoying nature.  Two of the best ways to feed one's spirit.

This was also a chance for us to invite a celebrity choral clinician to run through a few workshop with us. Gabriel Lewis-O'Connor, a classically trained singer and choral director from Seattle, will be flying down for the event.  Gabe sang with the professional vocal ensemble Chanticleer, and has his master’s degree in choral conducting from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Video of Gabriel Lewis-O'Connor singing with Chanticleer - from his website.

The last of the three workshop will be in combination with approximately 30 of Glebe Collegiate's singers. Rachel Handley, the director of the four Glebe choirs will be joining us for the weekend and her students will travel to Arnprior on Saturday, for an afternoon workshop with our clinician.

The whole event will culminate in a concert at St Chrysostom church on Saturday May 5 at 8pm. Each of the choirs will perform selections and for the final part, will combine in a mass choir to sing 4 pieces.  Gabriel Lewis-O'Connor will join the basses and will sing Hostias, a solo from Fauré's requiem, while the choirs accompany in the background.  It'll all end with the "O Domine" from the same work - both of which I adapted for a cappella voices.

The Arnprior workshop/concert also features choirs (or is it one choir?) from Glebe Collegiate, where you used to  teach. How meaningful is that connection for you? I understand you have mentored many Glebe students in the Stairwell  Carollers adult choir, that's kind of cool. Are any of them still singing in the choir, or in other choirs?  

Pete grins while ex-Glebe Stairwellers pose thug-style

Over the course of several years, the carollers have had 7 Glebe singers in the group. One of them is still with us - now in his sixth year with the choir.  Others sang between 5 and 10 years with the group. All of these were former students in the instrumental program which I taught at Glebe - and many of them were part of Offbeat - the stomp-like percussion group I started in 2001. It means a lot to me that my students wanted to keep up the connection even after my retirement. The 30 Glebe singers that will be joining us in Arnprior for this event are selected from Glebe's Full, Concert, Chamber, and Man choirs.

After Arnprior, you scheduled two concerts in the Ottawa area. Tell us about the type of program you have  assembled. I know your Xmas program was all-Canadian to celebrate Canada's 150th. What led you to choose the pieces you've selected for the spring program? Are there any personal stories behind any of them, special connections, or  particular challenges that you wanted the choir to explore and overcome?  

The program for the May and June concerts is made up of secular and sacred songs from all eras.  It makes for a varied program that keeps our audiences well entertained.

Program suggestions are made by the members and from that, I choose songs from previous years and add new works to challenge the group. Adding secular contemporary works provides that challenge in spades. In terms of Canadian content the group will perform my award-winning Eya, eya, gaudeamus and a very challenging arrangement by David Rain, one of our tenors, which we will be premiering at our May concert.

I know the choir is still fundraising to support the remaining 40th anniversary activities. What message would you send to prospective donors to encourage their support?  

Our 40th anniversary workshops aim to engage both adult and young community members in an enriching choral experience - improving technical and artistic excellence and helping to inspire singers to continue studying music and singing in choral groups.

The youth singers will receive the double benefit of the master classes themselves, while also singing alongside an experienced adult choir, the Stairwell Carollers. We also consider it important that all members of the choir and all interested Glebe  Collegiate vocal students be able to attend.  To this end we ask for donations to not only cover the workshop expenses but to cover expenses of participants regardless of individual financial situations. When workshops of this nature are provided to high school students, everyone is required to pay a fee. We want to avoid having to do this and so we are approaching all communities to help make this happen.

We have currently raised over $11,000 and need another $4000 to reach our goal. Donations can be made on our website.

6. Any final thoughts on this 40th anniversary season? Will you be taking a long rest after this exhausting season, or are you eagerly awaiting the next batch of new songs to test out during your 41st season?  

I'm always eager to see what our upcoming repertoire will be. I think that it has been a very productive and satisfying 40th year and I always look forward to a the rest between seasons. Starting in May, I will again ask for suggestions for Xmas repertoire from the choir members and I have a couple of new carol arrangements to try out as well. David's work "In natali" will certainly be on the list.

I also look forward to start up every season, as it's always so satisfying to commune with fellow singers in the spirit of song.

Thanks Pete
Thank you David!

Part 1    Part 2

About The Stairwell Carollers:

Pierre Massie began our a cappella choir way back in 1977 while studying music at Ottawa U. The Stairwell Carollers are ranked with the best of Ontario choirs, winning both the 2010 and 2013 Ontario Music Festival Association competitions. 

A registered Canadian charity, we also help local charities with our concert, CD and cookbook sales. Net proceeds benefit charity.

Please DONATE to support our 40th year workshops! 

An interview with the Director - Part 2 - A Babe is Born

Part 1 - Canadian Composers for the 40th - is here

An interview with Pierre Massie (fellow tenor) - Director and founder of The Stairwell Carollers - on the choir's 40th Anniversary 

(this post appears originally in the Stairwell Carollers Choir Blog)

Part 2 - A Babe is Born

by David Rain

I understand you have also written a special composition to honour the choir’s 40th anniversary? 

Yes, it is a bilingual carol called, “A Baby is Born / L'Enfant est né” Inspiration comes when it comes, in different ways. Part of the melody I used here had already been created years back. I have a folder of melodic ideas. I listened to some of them, chose one and built from that, until the arrangement was almost complete.

I then wrote season-appropriate lyrics in both official languages making it truly Canadian.

Do you have any final comments, have there been any changes with the choir these past 40 years that you'd like to highlight?

We change with the years and with age of course.

In the beginning our philanthropic adventures brought us all over the city: carolling on a bus, singing for a parking lot attendant, in hospitals, malls, retirement homes, food banks, on the street and live in local markets. Some years we'd perform over 20 gigs at Christmas time. Back then we had the energy for it.

Our primary mandate is still to educate and promote the public understanding and appreciation of choral music. This is done through presentations of traditional Christmas carols during the Christmas season, and sacred and secular music from all eras during our spring season.

In order to fulfill this mandate, we encourage professional development and we often have choral workshops and ear training and rhythm activities when we can fit it in.

The money we raise is used to cover our annual operating expenses which occasionally includes upgrades to our lighting system, and our media storage for our every growing archives. This allows us to continue providing the global community with an opportunity to experience high quality a cappella singing.

Our library of sheet music, live concert footage, and vocal training podcasts are great educational tools, not only for the choir but also for the general public.

Our many social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest help promote interest in, and give exposure to our genre of music.

We feel it essential to maintain this portal to a repertoire that ranges from the Medieval to the most modern 21st century examples of a cappella singing.

Our secondary mandate is to support local charities and provide bursaries to community high school graduates entering first year music studies at a Canadian university.
All remaining profits from CD, ticket sales and concert fees are used for this purpose.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Pierre, and I’m sure I speak for my fellow choir members when I say we are really looking forward to this 40th anniversary season!

David Rain

Please DONATE to support our 40th year events! 

All Donations receive a charitable receipt.

A registered Canadian charity, we also help local charities with our concerts and CDs !

The Stairwell Carollers:

Pierre Massie started our a cappella choir in 1977 while he was a music student at Ottawa University. The Stairwell Carollers are ranked among the best of Ontario choirs, winning both the 2010 and 2013 Ontario Music Festival Association competitions. 

Visit our website

An interview with the Director - Part 1 - Canadian Composers

An interview with Pierre Massie (Director and fellow tenor) - on The Stairwell Caroller's 40th anniversary 

(this post appears originally in the Stairwell Carollers Choir Blog)

Part 1 - Canadian Composers

 by David Rain 

How are you feeling about having led the choir for 40 years?

It gives me great pleasure to have been singing with so many fine people over these past 40 years. We have shared the best possible art form and created jewels of music with each other and with our audiences.

To me, singing feeds my spirit and my soul.

How have you conceived the 40th anniversary Christmas 2017 program? 

Canada's 150th year happened to coincide with our 40th season. It seemed appropriate to offer an all-Canadian Christmas concert to celebrate both milestones. Online research, contacting other Canadian composers and arrangers, searching though our extensive library of sheet music, is how this year's repertoire was conceived. It's also important to have a good balance of languages, styles and a good mix of traditional Christmas carols that are tried and true, mixed in with works recently created by Canadian composers and arrangers.

Which composers have you included in the program?

In addition to my own pieces, I’ve included a wide variety of composers from across Canada and across different time periods. They include Manitoba composer Rev. John Black (1818-1882), Alfred E. Whitehead (1887-1974) from Nova Scotia/Quebec as well as noted music educator G. Roy Fenwick (1889-1970) and William McCauley (1917-1999), both from Ontario.

We also have carols in French by Quebec composers Maurice Dela (1919-1978) and André Bellefeuille, as well as pieces by noted composers Ed Henderson in Vancouver and Dr. Mark Sirett in Kingston. I am particularly excited that Mark has agreed to lead a workshop for the choir in October.

In addition, I’m also very pleased to include pieces by composers with a special connection to the choir: by former choir member Martin Fairbank, by Robert Frederick Jones (1947-2012), the father of current choir member Andrew Jones, as well as two of your own pieces, David.

Could you say a few words about what inspired some of your compositions that we’ll be singing, Pierre?

Well, one of these is “Eya, eya, gaudeamus”, which in 2007 placed first in the Toronto Amadeus Choir Carol Competition. As with most of the compositions I've written, I started with a melody line and it grew from that point forward. The lyrics are from Latin poems from the middle ages. I have a tome of Latin text and hymns that I use for inspiration. It harkens back to my youth when I would attend midnight mass and sing French and Latin Christmas carols.

We will also be performing my arrangement of an audience favourite, “Carol of the Bells.” I wrote this in 2016, but we will be doing the premiere performance this Christmas. The motivation here was to create new settings of traditional carols for our audiences, the ones they would recognize as tried and true.  New arrangements of these well known melodies, to give the songs a fresh and different appeal.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Pierre, and I’m sure I speak for my fellow choir members when I say we are really looking forward to this 40th anniversary season!

David Rain
---------------
Part 2 - A Babe is Born - will be posted Monday, Oct 23, 2017.

Ear Training - from the Directors viewpoint

(adapted from a post in The Stairwell Carollers Choir Blog)

David Rain, tenor:
 How on earth  do you hear everyone, including our mistakes, while singing along at full throttle?

Pierre:
I'm not sure, but you're definitely right about my being able to hear everything.  It's not necessarily that I can pin point a specific individual culprit, but I immediately know there's something wrong and can definitely tell where the mistake is coming from.  About 90% of the time, I can tell who it is, but tend not to expose individuals.

That I'll do later, one on one or by email, and will make suggestions on how to improve.  It's actually that sort of thing that prompted the ear training stuff on the members' page. ( I will post some links later. )

One thing I do know.  I've always been this way.  I come from a family of singers on both sides.  My ear has always been super fine-tuned to identifying wrong chords played or out of tune.  In high school I could always tell if someone in our 100 or so piece band was playing the wrong note.  When I'd mention it, they would always be surprised and wonder how I was able to do that.  Chord structure and progressions of vertical structures has always been something that I am sensitive to.  Not sure where that sort of thing comes from but then again,  Mozart could hear something once and play it on the piano.  Holly always told me I was a bit autistic that way.

Mind you, someone like Susan's Jim... that totally boggles my mind. (Susan is one of our altos and Treasurer. Her husband Jim plays piano by ear and accompanies intuitively) There's no way I could do what he does and I've always been blown away by anyone who could accompany people on the fly.  He seems to be able to fiddle around and fall into whatever key you're singing it as well.

I discovered in my first year of university, that I had a long way to go with pitch corrections.  Three years of sight-singing, interval identification and progressively more difficult music dictations, fixed a lot of that.

I have to say that I've noticed my ear becoming more and more sensitive to intonation as years progress.  I seem to pick out more and more as we go along.  That could be because the choir is stronger than before and so slight intonation errors are more  noticeable than they used to be.

Mysteries of life, eh David?  It's what makes all of us so interesting.

P.S. Thanks so much for knowing the music so well.  It's always nice to see a person who puts in the effort and time to make sure our performances are the best they can be.
(From an email correspondence between David and Pierre)

Ciao, Pierre

A cappella arrangement of the classic Christmas Carol, O Holy Night - for digital download

The sheet music for my original bilingual arrangement of the classic Christmas Carol, O Holy Night,  is now available for digital download from SMP Press. 

If you have been looking for that voice only choral version of this famous carol for your SATB choir -- here it is! The signature organ accompaniment to this piece made it challenging to set a cappella. 

This setting I created "sans accompagnement" has worked really well for my choir. 

It's an excellent ending piece to a Christmas concert that'll bring down the house. 

Here is a recent performance of my arrangement by my choir. 


Standing ovation guaranteed.

Visit my choir's YouTube channel for other samples of my work, sung by my choir, The Stairwell Carollers.

Contact:
 info(at)stairwellcarollers.com

Ciao,
Pierre

Laudemus cum armonia - now available for SATB choir

The sheet music for my original Christmas Carol,  Laudemus cum armonia,  is now available for digital download from SMP Press. 

Laudemus cum armonia, "Let us praise with harmony",  is hymn-like in nature and one of the favorites of my choir.

The song works well as a sacred song of praise and also as a Christmas carol as it describes the festival of the child's birth.

Visit my choir's YouTube channel for other samples of my work, sung by my choir, The Stairwell Carollers.

Contact:
 info(at)stairwellcarollers.com

Ciao,
Pierre

The First Noel - for SATB choir - new, fun arrangement

After years of singing traditional versions of The First Nowell, I felt it was a good time for a change.  

This arrangement has everything a choral director could want; lower voices singing a verse, upper voices singing another and a finale that ends with two choirs and a soaring descant.  

Have a listen and enjoy.  
Your choir will get a standing ovation every time with this one.

The sheet music for my original setting of this beautiful French Christmas Carol is now available for digital download from SMP Press.

Visit my choir's YouTube channel for videos of this and some other of my works.

Ciao,
Pierre

I saw a swete semly syght - an original Canadian Christmas Carol by Pierre Massie

I saw a swete semly syght is an original composition I wrote in 1998, based on words from the 15th century Ritson's Manuscript. It became the title track on my choir's most popular Christmas Carol CD to date, "I saw a sweet semly syght".

The composition placed First in the Amadeus Choir International Carol Competition and premiered Dec. 5, 1999, at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts in Toronto. 

The sheet music for my original Christmas Carol is now available for digital download from SMP Press. The hire process is easy, and you don't have to wait for the sheet music to arrive in the mail. View the sheet music and listen to a sample mp3 of my Ottawa choir, The Stairwell Carollers, singing this arrangement.

It was also broadcast across Canada on CBC radio on Christmas day. 

NOTE: When I did it with my choir, The Stairwell Carollers, I chose to use the Olde English pronunciation but it can also be sung in standard.

Visit my choir's YouTube channel for videos of my works

Ciao,
Pierre

New Canadian choral arrangement of Do You Hear What I Hear - for Xmas 2016

Choir directors...

I hope you enjoy my arrangement of Do You Hear What I Hear. 

This particular version is reminiscent of "The Little Drummer Boy" - with lower voices mimicking the sound of the drum.

I had long intended to do a choral setting of this piece,  and now -  with publisher's permission - here it is!

Unfortunately, the only audio sample I can provide is of my music software playing the arrangement.

It's a recent work for me and so my choir hasn't premiered it yet. Maybe your group will beat us to the punch!

The sheet music for my original setting of this favourite Christmas Carol is now available for digital download from SMP Press

The hire process is easy, and you don't have to wait for the sheet music to arrive in the mail, since you print it directly from your digital download.

Ciao,
Pierre

My original composition, Eya, eya gaudeamus -- sheet music for choir now available

Eya, eya gaudeamus took first place in the 2007 Amadeus Choir International Songwriting Competition, where it was premiered by the Amadeus Choir under the direction of Lydia Adams.

Each line speaks of the joy and festive nature of the Christmas season. Like most of my original pieces, I couldn't explain where the inspiration comes from - it just does. And a few hours or days later, I have a song. It's a wonder and a mystery to me and I can't will it to happen. I have yet to do a commissioned piece -- it's tough to be inspired on cue.

The sheet music for my original Christmas Carol is now available for digital download from SMP Press. You can view samples of the sheet music there and listen to an mp3 sound byte too.

Here is a concert recording of the piece sung by my choir, the Stairwell Carollers.



Ciao,
Pierre

Unique arrangement of Dans cette étable has a distinct drum-like background

The sheet music for my original setting of this beautiful French Christmas Carol is now available for digital download from SMP Press.

The hire process is easy, and you don't have to wait for the sheet music to arrive in the mail. View the sheet music and listen to a sample mp3 of my Ottawa choir, The Stairwell Carollers, singing this arrangement.

My arrangement of Dans cette étable is underscored by the sound of drums performed by the lower voices. With each additional verse, more voices join in, creating intricate harmonies.

The piece ends with the repeat of verse one in half time - a strong ending that caps off the work with a bang.

Visit my choir's YouTube channel to preview more of my works.

Ciao,

Pierre

Original arrangement of Ça bergers, assemblons nous now available as digital download

Attention, choral directors!

My contemporary arrangement of Ça, bergers, assemblons nous has several sections providing variety from verse to chorus, unlike the Ernest Gagnon traditional version.

The piece opens with the chorus sung by the sopranos and altos first as a duet and then as a quartet. It is then repeated by all voices.

The sopranos and altos sing verse 1 alone. Tenors and basses only for verse 2 -- and finally -- the rousing full choir ending chorus, with a drum-like accompaniment in the lower voices.



This one is guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser.

The sheet music for my original setting of this favourite French Christmas Carol is now available for digital download from SMP Press

The hire process is very easy, and you don't have to wait for the sheet music to arrive in the mail.

You can view samples of the sheet music and listen to an mp3 sound byte too.

Ciao,
Pierre

Canadian arrangement of Away in a Manger now available

The sheet music for my original setting of this classic Christmas Carol is now available for digital download from SMP Press. The hire process is easy, and you don't have to wait for the sheet music to arrive in the mail. View the sheet music and listen to a sample mp3 of my Ottawa choir, The Stairwell Carollers, singing this arrangement.

My Away in a Manger has a pure and traditional feel. The second verse is sung by only three high voices, giving it an ethereal quality.  

Since there are so many arrangements out there of the more common Kirkpatrick melody, I decided to use the John Hopkin's version which I find equals, if not surpasses, the more well known tune.

Visit my choir's YouTube channel to preview more of my works.

Ciao,
Pierre

Pierre Massie Compositions and Arrangements now available on Sheet Music Plus Press

Tenors in rapturous song -- The Stairwell Carollers

I am pleased to announce that my original Canadian Choral Compositions and Arrangements are now available for digital download from SMP Press, partner to Sheet Music Plus.

For many years now Sheet Music Plus has been one of my favourite sources for sheet music for my choir, The Stairwell Carollers.

I will keep you posted as I upload new pieces for your perusal.

Ciao,
Pierre