Northern Lights you can hear
‘Nordic Light’ will be performed Saturday as part of the Podium choral conference in St. John’s
When Eriks Ešenvalds’ father was in the army, he spent his night shifts as a guard in Russia entranced by what he called “rivers of light.”
The Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, has been the subject of many myths, legends, stories and songs. It shouldn’t be difficult to understand why.
As the latest incarnation of this fascination, “Nordic Light” by the Latvian-born composer will be performed as part of the Podium 2018 conference’s highlight concert series on June 30 at the St. John’s Arts and Culture Centre.
That the mythical or religious aspect of the Northern Lights would fascinate Ešenvalds is no wonder. Before switching to musical composition, Ešenvalds was studying at the Latvian Baptist Theological Seminary.
Borrowing a camera from a friend, he went north to photograph the Northern Lights and experience them for himself.
“I left civilization and stopped in (a) complete white, cold, frosty field of snow, and waited,” Ešenvalds said in a Tedx talk he gave in 2014. “At 7 o’clock at night the show started. It was magical, so powerful.”
Ešenvalds, in pursuit of understanding this natural wonder, began his research by speaking with scientists and ethnologists.
What he came back with is an exploration of what the Northern Lights might sound like if the visual phenomenon could be transposed for the ears.
“We all know about the North,” Hugh Donan, CEO of the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra (NSO), said. “To experience our harsh winters and to see the blinding snow, the wind … this piece really brings out that spirit of what it is to experience the northern feeling.
“Be it the beauty of a cold crisp night or a harsh blizzard… it really evokes those feelings that we all have as people of the north.”
The performance itself will be a multi-media experience. The YYC singers, along with
the NSO, will be accompanied by projections of the northern lights.
The NSO’S season typically ends in April, but presented with the opportunity to perform this piece as part of the Podium conference, they made
it work, Donan said.
“Right away we jumped at the chance,” Donan said. “We’re just definitely really honoured and excited to be part of it. We’re the only symphony orchestra in the province, so it’s not every day that we’re going to get an opportunity to perform at a conference like this.
“With a large orchestra we’re not able to do a lot of travelling. When an opportunity like this comes right to your hometown it’s awesome that we could get involved.”
Tickets for the concert are available at the Arts and Culture Centre box office or online at www.artsandculturecentre.com.
The Singing Network and Memorial University are partnering with Choral Canada to co-present Podium on the Edge: Singing from Sea to Sea to Sea June 29 – July 3. Podium is Choral Canada’s biennial conference.
Podium 2018 will immediately follow the International Symposium on Singing and Song II and will be the first time Podium has been held in Newfoundland and Labrador. The Telegram is a sponsor of Podium 2018. For more details visit www.podiumconference.ca.