U of S students hold special recital for Coast to Coast opera series
Two University of Saskatchewan singers were selected to sing for a nationwide opera recital series — and performed for a special audience in Saskatoon.
Third-year music student Jayden Burrows and graduating fourthyear student Angela Gjurichanin were asked to perform for Opera NUOVA’S Coast to Coast virtual recital series taking place this summer. Their performances will be streamed online at 7 p.m. today — Wednesday, June 10.
When the COVID-19 pandemic closed down in-person classes at the university, that also meant music students were unable to perform their year-end recitals for their family and friends.
For Gjurichanin, who was set to perform a one-hour solo recital, the cancellation was devastating.
“The moment I got the email, I bawled,” she said. “I wasn’t going for the recital for the grade, I was going for the experience and the celebration with the panel and the people in my family.”
So when music department faculty members Kathleen Lohrenz
Gable and Garry Gable offered her an opportunity to perform her hard-practised repertoire, even online, she jumped at the opportunity.
“I knew that, even in that twomonth period, I was able to put something else into that repertoire, add a layer to it,” Gjurichanin said. “I really wanted to share that with somebody.”
Opera NUOVA is a not-for-profit organization based in Edmonton that offers extensive operatic training programs for vocalists and collaborative pianists across Canada and the United States. The Coast to Coast recital series, in a way taking the place of the annual summer program during the COVID -19 pandemic, features performers from across the country recording and streaming operatic recitals.
Due to Kathleen Lohrenz Gable’s longtime involvement as an instructor with NUOVA, she and her husband Garry Gable organized the Saskatoon-based recital. They selected Burrows and Gjurichanin to sing because the two had taken part in NUOVA’S programs before.
When the Gables went to the university for assistance, they didn’t expect university president Peter Stoicheff to offer the unoccupied President’s Residence as a clean and social distancing friendly venue to perform.
“We were really pleased ... to have the campus take such a proactive stance with it. It was really a nice gesture,” Garry Gable said.
The recording of the recital took place on June 1 with the assistance of U of S technicians. Burrows and Gjurichanin were prepared to sing to a camera lens when Stoicheff and his wife Kathryn Warden, the director of research profile and impact at the university, stopped in and sat at the very back of the room to listen to the recital safely.
A live audience, even if it was a small one, can make a big difference.
“I was pretty relieved when Peter Stoicheff and Kathryn Warden came in out of the blue ... I was overjoyed,” Burrows said. “You can’t fake the human element of singing to an audience and getting feedback and seeing faces.”
Kathleen Lohrenz Gable said there’s “no audience in their life” that can compare to having loved ones at a big student recital, but being able to sing in this national recital with the support of Opera NUOVA and the U of S is a special opportunity on its own.
“The recital series is really to highlight students right across the country and keep creating an excitement for live music,” she said. “That’s what this recital has provided: another huge growth in their artistry.”
The recital series is really to highlight students (and) keep creating an excitement for live music.