By Cecilia Nasmith

More than 40 years of music is the gift of the Northumberland Orchestra and Choir to the community.

The orchestra was founded in 1978 by Philip Schaus and, a year later, the local choral society joined forces with them. It was a collaboration devoutly to be wished, music director and conductor John Kraus said recently, and one you don't run across every day.

“Geographically, in Ontario, we are one of two or three organizations that has the choral element as well as the orchestra,” Kraus said.

“To be able to do this with maybe upwards of 100 people working on a single project is a rarity, but it's also an amazing experience when you get everything moving together at the same time.”

Another gift of the organization is creating opportunities for local musicians to collaborate and present beautiful music from the past and from the contemporary scene, and in a variety of languages.

“From French to Italian,” Kraus said.

“From the romantic to the steppes of Russia,” board president Ken Noronha added.

Kraus is proud of the premieres they have presented, like the Luc Arsenault work L'Histoire d'une Pionniere du Nord showcased at their Oct. 26 Magical Mozart & Friends season opener for 2019-2020.

Noronha appreciates the unique opportunity the group offers for singers who want the symphonic experience of singing with an orchestra.

Kraus estimates the current contingent at 55 orchestra members and 30 to 35 choir members. The age range is about 20 to 92, “and again, you look at the breadth of experience. Those that are on the younger side learn from the others.

“We have at least four original members from 1978, two in the choir and two in the orchestra,” he said.

Every walk of life is represented – lawyers, oncologists, accountants.

“You name it, we've probably got one.”

Bass chorister Cam Christie offered some perspective from the choir contingent. He joined in the 1990s with little facility for reading music, though an early love of folk music had kept his vocal chords limber. The mentorship of fellow choristers (notably the late John Groeneveld) taught his eyes and ears to work together.

“Along the way, I met Handel, Puccini, Durufle, Beethoven, Lauridsen, Mozart, Jenkins, Vivaldi, Brahms, Verdi, Poulenc, Faure, Hayden, Bizet, Bach, and the road leads on,” Christie said.

“The choir rehearses for a couple of months before each performance. It meets the orchestra, which has been rehearsing separately, in the final two weeks. When they come together, butterflies rumble.”

Christie characterized Maestro Kraus as inspiring and fun to work with.

“Choirmaster Mitchell Cox, a multi-instrumentalist in his own right, approaches vocal performance as a linguistic and physical challenge. Piano accompanist Elizabeth Barlow, the choir's lifeline, sketches and blends the sections in rehearsal.”

Violinist Helen Walker, one of the original members of the group, was lucky enough to be recruited when it was forming up. At 92, she is still a part of it all. She relies on her daughter to take her to rehearsals and friends to take her home, she said. But once she is seated, “I'm always so glad I am there.”

Walker said she relies on her music to challenge her mentally, and it always comes through.

“It has been a life-saver for me,” she said.

“Our conductor is a marvelous person – a very fine man, but a wonderful musician as well. And he's so off-hand about it, not vain at all. He just carries on. We are so lucky to have him.

“We're all there because we want to be there. It's great fun, and it's challenging.”

Pamela Haskell, who began playing principal flute with the NOC at the beginning of the 2014-15 season, was drawn to the opportunity to make music in an orchestral setting – “the most versatile and sweeping of all ensembles,” she said.

“When the opportunity arose, and in my local county, I took it!” Haskell said.

“I've since been working enthusiastically to ensure my contribution is all it can be.”

Haskell treasures the opportunity to collaborate with like-minded fine musicians and to explore and present exciting music in live performance. Her reward is a strong sense of giving to the community and belonging to a very supportive musical family.

“Also of significance to me is the way NOC – and particularly our director – practice inclusivity,” Haskell added.

“As someone who is legally blind, and thus has a different approach to reading and learning print music and following direction, John has been both accommodating and forward-thinking.

“In the past, this has been a barrier to my participation in group music-making. With NOC I feel at home. The music speaks for itself.”

Deirdre Bryant is another recent addition to the orchestra, joining its ranks in September 2016. Though she had completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Music, her music took a back seat to her law studies for some time. Once she started working in the Cobourg area, she was delighted at the opportunity to become involved in an orchestra again.

“The orchestra and choir are able to perform at what I consider to be a fairly high level,” Bryant stated.
“This only enhances the enjoyment I get from performing with the group.

“We are able to be so successful in our performances in no small part due to our excellent leaders. John Kraus is a hard-working, inspiring conductor and music director (and a great, friendly person to boot). Mitchell Cox has been very successful as choral director, leading the choir to increasingly great performances over the past few years.

“I've found the NOC community to be warm and welcoming. Everyone is friendly, and we all put our hearts and souls into our performances. Being a member of the NOC has brought a great deal of enjoyment to my life in many ways, and for that I am grateful!”

Diana Storen has known that joy for almost 40 years. She was recruited by founding director Schaus for her clarinet skills and has enjoyed so many years of making great music for some wonderful audiences.

Walker recalls Schaus's role (and her own) in one of the key landmarks of the group's early years – the 1985 film about the ensemble directed by Larry Weinstein called Making Overtures: The Story of a Community Orchestra. It was nominated that year for an Oscar for best documentary short.

Walker said she still has her copy of the film.

“I must dig it out and have a look at it again,” she said.

Schaus was legendary to all who knew him, but Kraus comes in for his fair share of praise. For John O'Dea, who is in his third season with the orchestra, the opportunity to work with Kraus was the main drawing card for joining.

“His ability to bring out the best in musicians is remarkable,” O'Dea declared.

“He's demanding but fair, and can communicate his musical vision with clarity and humour. Add to this a group of fun, supportive, dedicated and talented musicians (both in the orchestra and choir), a diverse repertoire and a supportive community, and you have an amazing experience.”

“It's always trying to find a balance of things that work, and finding things that complement the choral music we are looking to present, as well as giving the orchestra an opportunity to shine as well,” Kraus said.

“I think, as an organization, that's something we do quite well – finding a balance in terms of creating a program that is exciting.”

That should be the case Dec. 14, when their Christmas In Northumberland concert will welcome back Lindsay's Kawartha Lakes Singers for a second collaboration – this one to present choral highlights from Handel's The Messiah.

Alongside these classics, contemporary season favourites will include The Christmas Song, White Christmas and Let It Snow, And their traditional sing-along will leave everyone in the proper holiday spirit.

“In February, we'll welcome Quartetto Gelato,” Noronha said. And though this is the latest in a long line of guest artists that includes Sultans of String, Kevin Fox, the amazing pianist Anastasia Risikov and the brilliant violinist Mary Elizabeth Brown, they love to promote local talent as well.

“This is a very rich community – not just Cobourg, but Northumberland County, with a long history of music. Hotbed is not the right word, but it's a very rich community in terms of musical talent and musical appreciation. That is one of the reasons we chose to make Baltimore our home,” Noronha said.

“You don't have to go to Toronto.”

In fact, Kraus said, they have regulars who travel from Toronto to attend their concerts, including some who routinely purchase season subscriptions.

“In the current season, we will be featuring some local youth talent at the end of February,” he said.

“Come Meet The Orchestra will feature two young musicians who have been part of the Northumberland music scene for several years as soloists with the orchestra, both studying music at the University of Toronto. And we have two guests from Toronto who were top-of-class at one of the major music festivals in Toronto coming to perform solo works with the orchestra – all under the age of 21, all four doing significant stuff. One will be collaborating with our concert master Tak Kwan doing music from the Double Violin Concerto.

“In the spring, at the end of April, we are presenting the 20th anniversary of the original premiere of the work The Armed Man Mass by Karl Jenkins, whom everyone knows as the composer of the music in the Birks Diamonds commercials – everyone calls it The Diamond Music,” Kraus noted.

“The Armed Man Mass is a very beautiful commentary on the social edge we have got in our world, which is focused around conflict for the most part. It was written right after Kosovo.

“Then we'll have Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F, which is full of life – light, airy, fun – just to have a completely polar-opposite experience. The Mass is all about peace, the search for peace, and everything together, but of course it looks at all the challenges as humans that we have with each other. That is going to be quite a beautiful afternoon,” Kraus predicted.

“Way down the road, next season, we look forward to a collaborative adventure with the Oriana Singers.”

“It's a really good organization that has survived a long time, and we want to grow it for the people who come behind,” Noronha commented.

To this end, they are keen to welcome new members – and one question Kraus is regularly asked is how good one must be to join.

“In terms of the instrumentalists, we look at people who have a good foundation in learning their particular instrument, and from that we can develop and grow what they're able to chew off and participate with,” he said.

“In terms of voices, a love of singing and an interest in working hard and working together with their section, as well as with the choir.”

“Anyone, whether a hobby musician, a serious student or a retired professional, will find participating in the NOC rewarding on multiple levels,” O'Dea said.

“Anyone who has ever imagined playing or singing with our group is always welcome to sit in on a rehearsal or two to see if it's a good fit for them.”

Christie found that absorbing the great works is easier in this digital age.

“Online resources give singers tools to learn their part at their own pace – wherever, whenever,” he said.

“I always come away richer from the experience, be it rehearsal or on performance night, and I hope more people will come aboard.”

“Northumberland is lucky to have a performing choir and orchestra of this level right in our own back yard,” Bryant stated.

“I hope people will take the opportunity to join us for some of our performances, and to experience the joy and excitement of beautiful live music.”

“They're spirited, and we do have fun,” Noronha stated.

“We are a nonsectarian, nonjudgmental – if you like music and you like to sing or you can play an instrument, come on down. I don't think we have ever turned anyone away. If they want to make music and they want to participate, by all means come give us a try.

“Drop us a line, come by and visit. We rehearse at Trinity United Church for the choir Tuesdays and the orchestra at Calvary Pentecostal Church in Port Hope Thursday evenings.”

Anyone interested can also get in touch with the organization through its website northumberlandmusic.ca or call 289-251-1191.