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I am aware that the topic of last month's newsletter was the impending musical - and I didn't intend to refer to it again for this month. BUT - it was such an amazing production that I need, at least, to make some remarks about it. There were so many quality aspects about the show - the costumes that complemented the period, the scenery, the heart-stopping moment when that huge Wells Fargo wagon entered the stage, and the way in which our students surrendered their disbelief and became true citizens of River City. It is difficult to have large numbers of people on stage, and have them all react in an authentic way to the spoken dialogue and the plot. Yet this is what I observed even among the minor characters who made up all of the crowd scenes.
Performing with a music track is difficult - but it was entirely necessary. For this show, an orchestral backing was needed, because having the accompaniment played on the piano (however expert the player) would have sounded weak and ineffectual. For the students, singing with a professional orchestra was an added bonus. There was certainly lots of humour - but for me there were also moments of deep poignant feelings. "My dear little librarian - pile up enough tomorrows and you'll find you've collected nothing but a lot of empty yesterdays" - "For the first time in my life I got my foot caught in the door." Leonard Boudreau, who played the salesman, Harold Hill, was a master of the pause - that silence on stage which heightens the emotive moment. So, the next musical will be in 2027 - and, whatever is chosen, it will be hard to surpass in sheer dramatic and musical quality what we saw and heard at SJCS in 2025. Malcolm V. Edwards
1 Comment
Colette
4/6/2025 05:55:55 pm
Beautifully written. I agree 100 percent! Amazing performances by involved. So much talent! Leave a Reply. |
Malcolm EdwardsMalcolm Edwards was born in Halifax, England and emigrated to Canada in 1967. He is a graduate of Sheffield College of Education (UK), Trinity College of Music, London, the University of Lethbridge, the University of Montana and has done further graduate work at the University of Northern Colorado. He taught music in junior and senior high school for twelve years in southern Alberta before joining the University of Calgary as a Professor of Music Education in 1980. He retired from the university after thirty-one years of service in 2011. In the community he was affiliated with the Youth Singers of Calgary for 21 years directing the Act Three and Senior divisions. In his retirement, he is now employed as an Adjunct Professor of Music at St Mary’s University, as the Artistic Director of the Calgary Men’s Chorus and as the Senior Choir Director at St John’s Choir Schola. He has held leadership positions within the Alberta Choral Federation, the Association of Canadian Choral Communities, served on the Board of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts and is active as a choral adjudicator and workshop leader in schools and churches. He is the recipient of two awards from the Provincial Federation – one in recognition of advocacy in arts education and the second in recognition of exemplary service to choral music within the Province of Alberta. In 2004 he received recognition from the national body (ACCC) for twenty-five years of service to the Canadian choral community. Archives
March 2025
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