Canter leads the Lapeer Concert Choir through Vivaldi's "Gloria"

by Mary Corbin
LA View Contributing Writer

Imlay City -- If the 18th century Italian composer and priest Antonio Vivaldi could have attended the Lapeer County Concert choir's Christmas performance Sunday, he probably would have been impressed at how masterfully the local choir performed his "Gloria."

In its second of three performances of the season, the choir directed by Louis Canter, 47, introduced Vivaldi's Gloria in Latin at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Imlay City. According to Canter, the "Gloria" is a very spiritual piece appropriately chosen for the Christmas season.

"It was the chance for me to introduce a more sophisticated piece and make it come alive for the choir as well as the audience", he said. "Society has become so instantly gratified that they want to go out and buy that CD and just listen to the music. But I encourage people to sing the music, to make it come alive."

Before each of the choir's concerts, Canter briefly explains the Vivaldi piece and its 12 sections. defining the piece as a universal classic, he explained it could not be translated to English for fear of "losing the very soul the of the composition."

"Most of the scholars wrote in Latin and to translate it into English, well, it just wouldn't work," he said.

He further explained that through translation, the rhythm, meter and phrasing would prevent the music from flowing properly. The program did, however, include a translation to English for the audience, so novice concert-goers could follow along during the 20 minute piece.

Canter's brief synopsis of Vivaldi and his musical eccentricities included insights into the composer and his life. The choir director kidded that "we probably would not liked to be one of his parishioners, as it was not uncommon for Vivaldi to stop Mass to write down a musical notation or thought.

"Mass could have gone on for hours at that rate," Canter quipped.

Canter defined Antonio Vivaldi as the "trailblazer" of his time, telling the audience that the composer seemingly broke away from the baroque style which was popular at the time. Instead, he introduced a more upbeat, chromatic style -- even experimenting with a two-against-three rhythm patterns. Canter snapped his fingers in three-quarter time, illustrating to the audience this particular musical rhythm to give them an idea what to listen for.

With his descriptions out of the way, Canter began the concert as the choir's members mesmerized listeners throughout the one hour performance. The second part of the concert included seven more familiar Christmas songs such as the "Little Drummer Boy" and "Silent Night."

The Lapeer County Concert Choir will perform this Saturday (Dec. 13) beginning at 7 p.m. at the North Branch Wesleyan Church in North Branch. Tickets are available online at www.orgsites.com/mi/concert-choir. In addition, tickets are available at the door on a first-come, first-serve basis.

December 3, 2003

Tri-City Times

Imlay City Michigan

Vivaldi's Spirit sings in local choir

By Iris Lee Underwood
Tri-City Times Contributing Writer

Tri-City Area -- The Lapeer County Concert choir will be celebrating Christmas the Vivaldi way this year.

The sixty-member choir performs the Italians composer's Gloria this Saturday at 7:00 p.m. at Trinity United Methodist Church in Lapeer, this Sunday at 4:00 p.m. at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Imlay City, and Saturday, December 13 at 7:00 p.m. at North Branch Wesleyan Church in North Branch.

This is the 36th season for the choir, founded as the Imlay City Community choir in 1968 by members who wanted to sing in a unified voice.

They found director Jerry Pakkala, a graduate of Oakland University and employee of the Imlay City School Systems, who helped them realize their vision with a concert that performed Christmas anthems.

The choir added a spring concert to their schedule in 1974, and then followed with major works from classical composers enhanced by instrumental ensembles and chamber orchestras.

"The amount of vocal talent in this area is one of the best kept secrets around."

Past concerts included Bach's Magnificat, Rutter's Gloria and Requiem, Handel's Messiah, Saint-Saens Christmas Oratorio, and Mozart's Regina Coeli.

"We decided to change our name in 1997 to the Lapeer County Concert choir to accommodate our focus, our mission statement, that offers more classical and major works to the public," says Judy Judd, president of the choir's board of directors.

"We also wanted to enrich the educational experience for the singers in the choir. And we wanted to include our youth instrumentally by inviting them to join our orchestra."

Louis Canter, director of the choir since 1999, claims the choir is mastering its mission.

"The amount of vocal talent in this area is one of the best kept secrets around," he says. "They are doing music that college choirs have difficulty doing."

Canter had played the organ under Pakkala's directorship, so he was familiar with the choir's history before he became director.

"Their style of music is my style," he says. "I wanted to explore what we could accomplish together, so I applied for director when Jerry announced he was resigning to pursue his music career elsewhere."

Canter, who has been a serious musician from age five, earned his masters in music from Wayne State University. After living in a Franciscan monastery for eighteen years, he found the opportunity to compose, work with good music and direct local voices as full-time music minister at the St. John & Paul Parish in Washington.

After a day's work, he looks forward to rehearsals with the Lapeer County Concert Choir, diving into the "tough stuff" of a classical piece.

"It's a part of our mission to keep this music alive," says Canter.

In Canter's opinion, Vivaldi's Gloria has endured because the piece captures the essence of the Christmas season.

"The text is not labored like Handel's Messiah. From a musician's point of view, it's crafted well with dynamic voice registration. I like it because it's clean and concise," he says.

Canter says he finds Vivaldi fascinating.

"He was a priest and very resourceful, using what he had with instrumentation and orchestration," he says.

Antonio Vivaldi" nickname, "il prete rosso" (the red priest), suggest his character and music. Born in 1678 to one of the leading violinist of the famous St. Mark's Chapel in Venice, among other things, Vivaldi became known as a trailblazer of Baroque organ music. His intensely energized music foreshadows classical forms, romantic virtuosity, and 19th century program music.

"The baroque period is the only one in history based on a musical term," explains Canter. "It's a Portuguese term that means 'complicated.' Classical music is predictable, Baroque music is not. From an organist standpoint, Vivaldi was more of a risk taker than Bach was."

Vivaldi was the first composer to regularly use the 'ritornello' form, a short instrumental passage in a vocal arrangement.

He standardized the three movement scheme -- fast, slow, fast -- of the classical concerto.

"He also used a lot of chromaticism, which is harmony in half-step motion that you find in music much later form composers like Franz Liszt," Canter explains.

He appreciates the lively improvisation, contrasting effects and succession of bass notes found in Vivaldi's music.

Vivaldi obtained his first assigned position as the "maestro di violino" for the Pio Ospedale della Pieta`, an institution in Venice devoted to the care or orphans and specializing in the music of the same period that focused on dances of the court with wind instruments and composed more vocally and operatically oriented music with stringed instruments.

"He wasn't afraid to experiment," says Canter.

And it is that fresh, daring Vivaldi spirit that gathers the members of the Lapeer County Concert Choir on Monday nights to rehearse his Gloria.

"The community is fortunate to have concerts of these large, great works," nods Judd.

Judd says it is her privilege to "warm us" the choir while Canter is in transit from Washington to Imlay City.

"This is a good group of people from lint, Rochester, Romeo, Imlay City, Capac and Dryden, all connected by their love of music," she says. "there's a lot of experience in this choir to help those less familiar with classical music."

"They're very patient people to put up with me,' Canter says with an extroverted Vivaldi smile. "These people have endurance. Some of them have been with the choir since the 70's."

"The Baroque period is the only one in history based on a musical term. It's a Portuguese term that means 'complicated,' Classical music is predictable, Baroque music is not."

They have the enduring Vivaldi spirit. After 300 years Louis Canter and the Lapeer county Concert Choir are obviously possessed with the Italian composer's strong, extroverted, and impassioned personality.

They are giving voice to his emotions, the rhythms and clear harmonic progressions that use repetitive phrases for the cumulative effect of glorious Christmas music. They are presenting the community with Vivaldi's gift of endless invention.

"This music is phenomenal," remarks Canter of Gloria. "We'd love to see a full house each performance. The Vivaldi way is a wonderful way to prepare for Christmas."

 

 

Spring. It is the time for daffodils, tulips and spring concerts.

I always look forward to the Lapeer County Concert Choir's annual spring concert. This year they are performing Joseph Haydn's "Nelson Mass" on Saturday, May 4 at 7 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church in Lapeer; Sunday, May 5 at 4 p.m at Sacred Heart Church in Imlay City, and on Sunday, May 12 at 6 p.m. at Dryden Wesleyan Church.

A portion of the program will include more traditional selections. Several members from our West Berlin United Methodist Church will be singing.

Did you know that Beethoven took music lessons from Haydn but had to quit because he charged too much ... 1.3 cents a lesson?

Did you know that the "Nelson Mass" celebrates Lord Nelson's victory at Aboukir Bay in 1798?

Never let it be said that I haven't enlarged your knowledge, and I hope to see you at one of the concerts.

You haven't heard me mention my dog Money for over three months. That is because Dr. Jim Sillers had to lovingly put her away. She had a malignant tumor in the roof of her mouth. Broke my heart.

I thought I would try and live without a dog. We have always had a dog since my childhood and it was too lonesome. Paula Alfonsi came to my rescue. I now have Katie.

She is a three year old Collie Husky mix. After our German Shepherd, Heidi, I said no more long hair dogs. Famous last words.

Paula clipped her but ... So far she has lots of love to give, and expects the same in return. She says, "So many rules, so many rules. I can't keep them all straight, but I am trying."
Jigs, my cat, is not too happy. He was the 'whole cheese' for three months, but he is adjusting. Katie is mostly curious and thinks it a big deal if she can sneak his food.

This weather is a little monotonous, but I am afraid to. complain. It will probably abruptly turn to a hot, muggy summer. I love it when the green-up is slow so we can savor every little leaf unfurling, and the tulips last and last. The daffodils and hyacinths didn't last long. The peepers sang last night, but not tonight.

P.S. I stand corrected. When Katie and I went for our last evening walk, the peepers were singing. Wow! It was a. damp, cold wind.

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Tri-City Area -- Most people do it because they love to sing and others do it for the challenge. But what ever it is that brings 40 people together to make beautiful music, it can be found and heard during the Christmas music concerts performed by the Lapeer County Concert Choir.

Director Jerry Pakkala of Dryden, who has been directing the choir since 1966, said the choir is a great group of people who come together for a shared musical and personal experience.

“We are just a group that gets together and sings,” he said. “We are from all over the county and beyond. We have people from Lapeer, Dryden, Imlay City, North Branch, Capac and as far away as Flint, St. Clair County, etc. It is totally voluntary,” he said. “These people are just incredible to work with.”

A close-knit group, the choir lost two of its members during the past year, one in a recent tragedy.

“We lost Don Button in June and then just last week, 18-year-old Teresa Schuster, in a car accident,” he said. “She was one of the best violinists I’ve ever heard. Both members were very talented.

This year’s concerts have been dedicated to the memories of the two former members.

Many members have been a part of the choir in some way since its inception in 1968. Although the choir has changed names (formerly Imlay City Community Choir) and its base of operation, the theme is still the same.

“We don’t have tryouts, we just have members who enjoy the pieces, the music and each other” Mr. Pakkala said.

Mr. Pakkala said the choir typically performs during two seasons of the year.

“We have the Christmas season concert and our spring concert,” he said. “For 2000, we’re thinking maybe three. We love to do a variety of pieces.”

The group rehearses for 11 of 12 weeks before a concert to allow for maximum preparation. The focus is always on the music to be covered in the next concert. “We practice intensively for two hours a week,” said Mr. Pakkala. “We practice for whichever concert is upcoming.”

Choir member Becky Volz of North Branch, who recently joined the group, said she was looking forward to her first concerts with the group.

“This is my first season. I joined in the fall,” she said. “I mostly enjoy the fellowship of the group. The first night, I felt very close to God, and that made me want to keep coming back.”

Judy Judd of Dryden, a soloist and choir president, has been with the group for 18 years. “We have good music and a terrific director,” she said. “There is nothing else like it in the area.”

Her favorite musical selection from this season is “Breath of Heaven” by Chris Eaton and Amy Grant. The piece was arranged by Don Hart. “I love the words, and the music. It is a very moving peice. Just the whole thing is so moving.” she said.

Betty Smith of North Branch who has been a regular member of the choir for the past 12 years, was doubling as the accompanist for a concert in Lapeer on Saturday. She is the assistant organist at Trinity United Methodist Church in Lapeer, and accompanies local students during solo and ensemble competitions.

“I’m just filling in until we find a regular accompanist,” she said. “I love being a part of this incredible group. I enjoy the classical works, the spirituals, mostly I enjoy the challenge of the different pieces we do. You also get to meet so many people. We’ve had a few new members join lately.”

Betty’s husband, Ed, serves as the ticket-taker at the door.

Mrs. Judd says although ticket sales are supportive, they are not sufficient to cover all of the cost incurred by the group.

“We have expenses for our two paid positions, the director and the accompanist, and also for our sheet music,” she said. “We also hire orchestra members for certain pieces, which is expensive.”

The choir raises funds through solicitations of corporations and generous individual supporters.

“We have some very generous contributors as well as getting memorials, etc. Every little bit helps,” she said.

“The group is a opportunity for anyone who wants to sing,” Mrs. Judd said. “We are able to sing pieces that you may not get ot perform in church choirs. We do very complex peices with many different parts. We learn a lot, and have a lot of fun. We have an outstanding director.”

Margie Muir of Dryden has been singing a St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Imlay City for 51 years, but she enjoys the unique challenge offered by the Lapeer County Concert Choir.

“I started with this choir when they started,” she said. “I took three years off when my husband was sick, but I came back. When most people join, they come to stay.”

John Everett of Flint has sung in many, many choirs throughout Florida and Georgia. He moved back to his hometown of Flint and has been a member of the Lapeer County Concert Choir since 1987.

“This is the best choir we’ve ever had,” he said. He joined the choir because “it’s good and they do good things.” His wife of 12 years, Nora, is also a soprano in the group. Mr. Everett, 79, believes he may be the oldest member of the group.

“One guy thought he was the oldest at 79, but we discovered I was six days older,” Mr. Everett said.

Rowena Spencer of Brown City said she enjoys singing with a large choir. “I love the big choir and the way it sounds; it just moves you,” she said. She has been a soprano with the choir for three years.

Audience members find the choir’s music inspiring and its performance moving. Vera and Bob Grayhek of Columbiaville have been to several of the group’s concerts.

“We especially enjoyed the jazz piece they performed tonight. It was very different and enjoyable,” Mrs. Grayhek said.

Pat Buckingham of Attica and sister Hazel Bowman of London, Ontario also appreciated Saturday’s performance.

“I’ve listened to many concerts. Most of the pieces were familiar, and some of them really move me,” Mrs. Bowman said.

“I can’t sing, but I appreciate others who do and especially those who do it well,” Mrs. Buckingham said.

Don Miller of Lapeer, a longtime member of the group, said he just loves to sing.
“I like to sing and I get the opportunity to di it with other members who just like to sing. I enjoy the company and the music,” he said.

The group performed three concerts over the weekend and will sing and play Handel’s Messiah a 6 p.m. This Sunday (Dec 12) at the Imlay City Christian Reform Church.

Mr. Pakkala, who holds a Master of Music degree in choral conducting from Oakland University, was the vocal music instructor for Imlay City schools from 1967 to 1993.

In addition to Mr. Pakkala and accompanist Betty Smith, the choir’s membership includes:

Soprano, Gloria Bublitz, Bernadine Case, Nora Everett, Pauline Grover, Brenda Hardies, Dolores Hebert, Julie Howard, Judy Judd, Cathy Kondrat, Shirley Morian, Llewellyn Moyer, Sharon Mulder, Renee Nason, Anne Roszczewski, Jane Ruscoe, Marilyn Seidell, Rowena Spencer and Margory Wright;

Alto, Deb Domke, Phyllis Engelman, kathy Ettema, Lois Faix, Sarah Gardiner, Janet Gilmore, Martha Haller, Carolyn Hill, Marie Hoffman, Ruth Kegerreis, Maxine Killbourne, Lorraine Martin, Marjorie Muir, Beth Mrozinski, Wanda Neuman, Bev Nieznay-Laidler, Carolyn Spink, Sheila Tabone, Becky Volz and Doris Vrsek;

Bass, Paul Cote, Carl Hardies, Mathew Hess, John Mills, Neil Spink, Bill Stockton and Tom Whitkopf;

Tenor, Hugh Birch, John Everett, Sam Grimes, Don Miller and Bill Schnute.

The groups music librarian is Andy Haller.

Mr. Pakkala said the choir is always seeking new members who enjoy singing and are willing to make commitment to rehearse. The group rehearses at the Imlya City Christian Reformed Church on Monday evenings. “New members are always welcome,” Mr. Pakkala said. “People can call me at home.”

Mr. Pakkala can be reached at (810) 796-3115.