ERATO CELEBRATES 10 YEARS
Making the most of Vancouver’s summer, the Erato Ensemble — named after the classical muse of lyric poetry — celebrates 10 years of (mainly) new music on Saturday at the Orpheum Annex. The enterprise grew out of two newto-Vancouver singers, Will George and Catherine Laub.
“I had a group called New Music New York, and I wanted to start something similar here,” says cofounder George. “Mutual friends connected me with Catherine, who was just then also moving to Vancouver.” Both were experienced singers and composers — the collaboration proved productive.
From the outset, new repertoire was very important. “We wanted to focus on Canadian composers, since both of us are Americans. Our very first concert was all Vancouver composers.” Erato settled into presenting between four and five concerts in the regular season, employing a central cohort of performers that is added to as the occasion demands. Programs coalesce around a particular theme, sometimes even a particular piece. George normally fleshes out programs with suggestions from other Erato members. Characteristically, the works will mix voices and instruments, and emphasis on local composers remains strong.
With 10 years of programming under Erato’s collective belt, there have been both successes and sprites. High on the former list is the Erato connection with the Sonic Boom festival. “We’ve been the ensemble in residence for Sonic Boom twice now. That has been particularly challenging because almost everyone writes for the whole ensemble, which makes for limited rehearsal time. It has gone surprisingly smoothly, and the composers I think were happy.”
Other highlights included Ayre, which featured early music remixed. And I recall a fine program devoted to the neglected KwaZulu Natal-born Prialix Rainier (190386), a shocking reminder of how fine music can fade from the scene for no apparent reason.
“There have been some surprise hits,” says George. “A couple of years ago we did a beautiful concert, PLUCK, using two quartets, string and vocal, with some new works. We attracted a good audience, which was simply blown away.”
The organization has even tackled smaller scale music theatre. “We’ve done a couple of staged operas, which really pushed us as an ensemble,” admits George. Stefan Hintersteininger, another composer/performer who frequently plays cello with Erato, produced his slightly zany Watch the Hound, an Orpheus and Eurydice story with a twist. Eurydice isn’t at all thrilled to return to Earth with her once beloved. It turns out there are opportunities in Hades for an enterprising woman.
The Erato anniversary idea come up, in part, because a date at the increasingly in-demand Orpheum Annex became available. “We thought about doing Erato’s greatest hits, and then it became music written for the Ensemble by Vancouver composers over the last decade,” explains George. “We want to have a big party and fill the space, so admission is going to be by donation.”
It wouldn’t be Erato without something unexpected: This year, it’s Michael Park’s Something About Knitting. “There will be knitting on stage,” cautions George, “and we are inviting audience members to bring their own.” A premiere and, at least as far as I can recall, Vancouver’s very first knitter-friendly concert.