Brock conductor sums up 30 years with final show
JOHN LAW
Old and new students will join conductor Harris Loewen on stage when he wraps up a 30-year career with the Brock University Choirs April 1.
Along with current members of the men’s, women’s and mixed choirs will be about 50 alumni and other guests for Loewen’s final show. The repertoire will span three decades, including Vivaldi’s Magnificat which Loewen performed during his debut concert at Brock in the fall of 1987.
It will end, appropriately, with Allister MacGilivray’s farewell
Brock University Choirs – Finale
Where: FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, 250 St. Paul St., St. Catharines When: April 1, 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $5 to $15; www.firstontariopac.ca
piece Here’s To Song. Likely followed by some tears, says Loewen.
“It will be difficult to keep my emotions in check during my final show with the students and almost 50 music alumni,” he says. “A colleague has created a special string ensemble arrangement for this piece, and we have three alumni taking the solo lines, so this will really pull everything together.
“I’m sure it will be a wonderful moment.”
The show will also premiere several new pieces written by Loewen’s colleague Matthew Royal, maintaining a tradition of championing Niagara choral music. It’s among the things he will miss most about the job, he says.
“I have participated in all kinds of community-based projects and have rubbed shoulders with all kinds of great people,” he says. “So, the multi-faceted aspect of my career is probably the most rewarding feature.”
Along with his Brock duties, Loewen founded both the Niagara Vocal Ensemble and Avanti Chamber Singers. He has recorded five albums for a series called Voices of Niagara, comprising choral work by local composers.
Loewen says he’s easing into retirement. Following his final show with the Avanti Singers April 29, he has one last course to teach at Brock next fall. He officially retires in June 2018.
“After that, I have plans to continue writing music for as long as anyone is interested in performing and/or publishing it.”