It felt a bit like our 15 minutes of fame as about 20 EKOSingers members joined other members of the Choir Alberta mass choir to sing “A Thanksgiving” by Bob Chilcott, with Grammy award-winning The King’s Singers.  The concert performance was the culmination of an afternoon workshop with the premier classical vocal group from the U.K.  

We got a brief insight into the method of these performers as they coached us on the parts we sang in accompaniment to their performance of the piece. We saw first how they use the vocal instrument like craftsmen working with fine jewelry.  They strived to form each sound to promote the unity of voices and to achieve the best quality.  

EKOSingers Director, Paula Roberts, who also participated in the workshop   noted “I was astounded, at first, to discover their plan of not having a conductor for the 150 voice workshop choir, but as things began to unfold, it was amazing how quickly every singer “tuned in” to each other and to the 6 King’s Singers. We actually pulled off a wonderful “unconducted” performance which was a new and exciting experience for us all.  (But, hopefully, we choral conductors won’t be out of a job any time soon!)”       

Their emphasis on the primacy of the ensemble over the desire to “shine” as a vocal performer was an excellent reminder to us as we strive for beauty in the vocal blend of our group.  We heard in the workshop and again later in performance how their group has become so finely attuned to each other that they are conscious of the sound, the silence and even the breathing of their fellow singers.  Their concert was filled with examples of singing as though they were one instrument and in other pieces how they sang in counter-point with the precision of an elegant machine.  

Being in the presence of such virtuosity was a great pleasure and inspiration to strive harder in our EKOSingers ensemble.

After a year of planning and anticipation, a group of EKOSingers and friends are off to spend a week in New Orleans!

New Orleans is an amazing musical centre, and we have a great week ahead of us.    We're incredibly excited to be workshopping with jazz vocalist Cindy Scott (like Brenda Earle) a Lovetri Method expert and inspirational clinician.   We're also privileged to have the chance to learn from Al Bemiss, the director of the renowned  Shades of Praise Gospel choir. 

We'll be getting into the swing of things Sunday morning with a House of Blues Gospel brunch, followed by a musical history tour of the French Quarter.   And there are some swamp tours, steamboat jazz cruises, plantations, and seafood dinners in the mix as well.   

There are few places in the world with as rich and fertile a musical background as New Orleans, and we are looking forward to this long awaited trip with great anticipation. 

Whom did you imagine yourself to be when you were young and first trying out your voice? Did you have some idol that you wanted to sound like? Mine was Julie Andrews. Maybe you were satisfied with one and never thought of having a number of sounds that you could sing with. Maybe you never knew how many different people you could sound like, what a variety of styles you could sing in.

When Brenda Earle comes and gets her clinic attendees fired up with her methods, she makes us think that we're capable of sounding like all kinds of other voices. Her techniques and training aids are meant to develop individual awareness for placing and pitching your voice so that it sounds--by turns--brassy, mellow, heady, chesty, blended, young, sweet... you name it. It's almost like you can place your order. But then you do have to determine how to arrive at that sound and then remember how to get there! 

Brenda's experience at this kind of 'imitation game' comes from a stint on board a cruise ship. She was asked to play piano and sing songs for the guests in the exact style of all kinds of vocal artists and found that, with a little work, she was able to pull it off. When she met up with her teacher, Jeannie LoVetri, whose Somatic Voicework methods harmonized with her own ideas, Brenda's own considerable vocal talents found a place to grow. This body-based system for singing frees the singer from over-thinking breathing methods and stressing over vowel sounds (among other preoccupations) and relies instead on techniques that enable the voice to make specific sounds that are usually new, fun and fulfilling.

Sing! Sing! Sing!  What can be better than a weekend full of singing and making music with others? 

Each spring EKOSingers retreats to the 4H Lodge at beautiful Battle Lake, Alberta and devotes a weekend to perfecting concert repertoire. This year was reported to be one of the best workshops yet, and not just because of the weather!

Some of us arrived Friday evening to set the stage, and the rest of us arrived bright and early Saturday morning. Our  wonderful conductor, Paula Roberts, directed us through the day’s work. There were breaks, of course, but we had a 
full day of rehearsing that wrapped up just before dinner.

The EKOSingers’ annual retreat is eagerly anticipated and very special. Often on choir retreats after a full day’s rehearsal members revert to individual pursuits for the evening; but not the EKO Singers, we put on a show! And what a wonderful night of entertainment it was; so much talent and enthusiasm in one room – we did not want the night to end.

As EKOSingers, each of us has a unique opportunity to prepare some music, either as part of a small ensemble or solo,  and to perform it ‘like a pro’. This is possible because each of us is supported by our terrific sound engineer, Jamie Kidd; our very own amazing accompanist, Charlie Austin; and on occasion other talented musicians from within EKOSingers. 

Add to this, fun acts between performances, hosted by our Master of Ceremony, Ron Richardson, and we have a very  polished show indeed. It’s a gift to each of us, no doubt about it.

And what do we do after a fantastic show? Why, we keep the music going, that’s what! And so, we were jamming  together until the wee hours of the morning….. getting a little sleep…. and then back singing the next morning.

Good work and great fun for all of us.

Contributed by Jo-Anne Bacon

Singers know that learning new techniques to better use our ‘instrument’ is time well spent and makes the choral / solo performance more rewarding and fulfilling. But, just what is ‘proper’ vocal technique and support; what does it feel like? And how do we transition smoothly through our vocal ‘break’ to move from lower to higher notes in any given melody?

This past weekend EKO Singers had the privilege of working with the accomplished New York City jazz singer/conductor/teacher, Brenda Earle Stokes (www.brendaearle.com). Brenda helped answer these questions and more. This was a huge opportunity for EKOS and arranged for us by our very own Paula Roberts.

Our time with Brenda began on Friday evening. Now, I don’t know about you, but sometimes all I want to do on a Friday evening is ‘crash’ after a full week’s work. However, within minutes we were all drawn in by Brenda’s vibrant personality and strong vocal knowledge. I’ve been the recipient of vocal technique instruction that has at times been a bit vague and esoteric; not so with Brenda! Her communication style is clear, demonstrative and direct. Before long she had us exploring our ‘Deep Hooty White Owl’ sounds and our ‘High, Tiny Saw-whet Owl’ sounds, and very quickly we heard positive results - our tuning improved, our choral sound became more unified. From there, she taught us proper vocal breathing technique and by incorporating this, our musical phrases lengthened and became more sustained. We were making beautiful music together and there is nothing quite as exhilarating as the feeling of a choir ‘in sync’ – the whole is so much bigger than the sum of the parts.

Before we knew it, it was 10:00 pm! That’s what good teaching does! It fully engages us and time just flies. Fortunately for EKOS, our workshop with Brenda had just begun. Next morning, bright and early, we reunited for a full day’s work to build on the knowledge we had gained the previous night, to further develop our skills, and to explore the dark, warm, bright and brassy sounds of our chest, mix and head registers. This is required of all singers who want to perform different styles of music. After all, good singing practice is required of all singers whether we perform classical, pop, jazz or country music. Using our new techniques, we rehearsed current repertoire to transform it and bring it to life. It was so much fun!!

Brenda Earle Stokes is not only a very accomplished instructor; she is very giving of her time and knowledge. She actively encouraged each of us to ask questions and she allowed ample time to answer them and address any issues we might be having - both individually and as a group. As was the case on Friday night, our time together on Saturday passed all too quickly.

One thing about singers is that after a ‘good sing’ we love to eat, drink and socialize. So, we headed to the Blue Chair Café http://bluechair.ca/ to enjoy dinner together, take in Brenda’s performance (vocals, keyboard) and to perform as her ‘back-up group’ on the song titled, ‘The Human Heart’. We were all accompanied by some of our favourite local musicians, Josh McHan, on double bass; Dan Skakun, on drums; and EKOS’ own Charlie Austin on keyboards. It was an evening of good music in the good company of friends - a perfect ‘capper’ for this stimulating musical weekend - doesn’t get much better than that for a singer.

Jo-Anne Bacon (Alto)

Have you ever wanted to learn how to play exciting Brazilian rhythms but don’t have an instrument? That was no problem for EKOS choir members at our workshop this year. Acclaimed Edmonton drummer and hand percussionist, Dwayne Hrynkiw taught us the rhythms and we played them on plastic wine cup agogos, ribbed drink can guiros and pop can shakers.

We also got a lesson in Brazilian cultural history from Reni and Amanda Ferreira and a chance to sing, play djembes and learn some samba dance moves. Reni and Amanda are affiliated with the Capoeira Academy. Reni, who is from Brazil, taught us a song that his grandmother had taught to him. We also learned that Capoeira was a fusion of martial arts and dance created by the African slaves in Brazil over 500 years ago. Reni played a steel-stringed bow called a berimbau that sets the rhythm and speed of the dance moves. We couldn’t help but feel “good vibrations” and we’re looking forward to sharing these wonderful rhythms with our spring concert audience.