New Opus 8 recording in the works

OPUS 8 gets busy with a third recording

We are delighted to announce that, this winter, Opus 8 is making a new recording of Canadian sacred music. Some of these works have never been recorded, some never made it beyond the format of their hand-written score; they’ve been hard to find and under-performed. Keep on reading below to learn more about the projects.

BUT FIRST: Most of the funds for the project have been raised, but we still have a few thousand to go to make it to our final goal - CLICK HERE if you’d like to donate, and support this exciting project. Lots of small amounts go a long way! All donations will receive a tax receipt from Chamber Factory.

Artistic Director/Tenor Robert Busiakiewicz has been busy transcribing and preparing these scores for our rehearsals, which begin in December. Here’s what Robert has to say about our recording project:

The talent and genius of composers like Violet Archer, Derek Holman, and Ramona Luengen manifested itself very locally. In Holman’s case it was in very specific churches. In Archer’s case, it was in specific performances, for which this music was written out by hand. Luengen’s scores were written out by hand for a specific choir. In fact, it appears that at least one or two of the pieces we will record has never been heard since its premiere. It’s our goal to transform these local efforts into a universal experience. It shouldn’t be that only the people at one particular place or performance get to experience this great repertoire – they ought to be able to everyone to experience and celebrate.

This recording project will make these works more accessible. Part of the project involves transforming some the scores into a much more legible performing edition, so that singers and conductors don’t have to spend time asking ‘is that an A or a B??’.

We’re very good in Canada at supporting new talent, but we’re not very good at sustaining that talent. To continue the legacy of composers like Holman and Archer after their recent deaths, is to continue a Canadian tradition, as is to support the work of living composers like Ramona Luengen and Stephanie Martin. Canada has this excellent legacy of choral music – we ought to continue and celebrate that legacy, as well as support new talent.

Rehearsals get underway this month, and we begin recording mid January - wish us luck!

What's new in 2023

The past few years have seen an interruption in Opus 8’s regular concert programming. However, we have continued to work on small projects - a new pop-single collaboration here, a touring collaboration with Femmes du Feu dance ensemble there. As a small ensemble, Opus 8 is able to be fluid and flexible, and we are currently making plans for the coming year, which will include work on a recording of unrecorded works by Canadian composers, as well as some new concert programs. We are exploring ideas for new small projects.

To start with, we have a summer concert coming up fast - Sunday, August 6th, at 4pm, we’ll be performing in the Toronto Music Garden, as part of the Summer Music in the Garden series. This is a free, outdoor concert - keep your fingers crossed that the forecast of “mostly sunny” holds!

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In 2022 we said goodbye to counter tenor Simon Honeyman, and bass David Roth, and we welcomed alto Veronika Annisimova and bass Martin Gomes.

Welcome Veronika!

Opus 8 alto

Welcome Martin!

Opus 8 bass

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Since our founding, Opus 8 has partnered with charitable organisations, and for this reason we are able to provide charitable tax receipts to our supporters even though we do not ourselves have charitable status. We are proud to announce that we are presenting our concert activities in partnership with Chamber Factory. Head over to our Donate page to find out how you can make a financial contribution to support the life of Opus 8, whether you need a tax receipt or not.

And don’t forget - you can listen to us anytime. Head to our Listen page to learn more.

That’s it for now! Happy summer - we hope to see you soon.

Clara

& your pals at Opus 8

Welcome, Jamie and Bryan!

This past May we said goodbye to tenor Peter Mowat, who has been with us since the very beginning. Joining us in the tenor position is Jamie Tuttle. Also recently departed is Sean Nix, having sung with us since 2016. His big shoes were temporary filled by Matthew Lee, until Bryan Martin could step in for the long-haul. Welcome to both Jamie and Bryan - we looking forward to making some goodly noise with them both!

Farewell Ellen, hello Katy (and blog)!

"Farewell, I go to sleep..." Thus begins Gustav Holst's remarkable early piece, "The Evening Watch." Opus 8 performed this piece in our very first concert of the same name, back in February of 2015, and we're looking forward to revisiting it on our upcoming program, "What Is Our Life?"

As we (re)approach this music of parting, we're also saying a fond farewell to soprano Ellen McAteer, who has been with Opus 8 through almost two full concert seasons, a full-length (début) recording, several fundraisers, a great many rehearsals, innumerable beverages, and too much wonderful singing to quantify. Ellen is departing Opus 8 as her growing career calls her away from Toronto ever more often, and we're celebrating her well-deserved success even as we know how much we'll miss her presence in the group. You can hear Ellen with Opus 8 on our recording Melancholy & Mirth, and on our Soundcloud page, as well as follow her post-Opus 8 activities at her website, www.ellenmcateer.ca.

Reprising this glorious piece by Holst also gives us an opportunity to look back at Opus 8's early days, and to recognize the singers who were essential in forming the group but who are no longer singing with us. Emily Wall was a founding soprano of Opus 8, singing with the group until November of 2015, when she flew off for an exciting adventure living in France; these days, she keeps in touch with her French side in Montréal, where she is singing regularly. Founding alto Olga Tylman also departed Opus 8 for an overseas adventure, and is currently living and singing in England. Soprano Jana Miller has also crossed the pond, and currently bases her flourishing career in Berlin. And founding bass Jordan Scholl is active in Toronto not only as a singer and voice teacher, but as a speech-language pathologist, helping people heal and strengthen their voices. We're so grateful for all of their contributions to Opus 8.

Moving forward, we're thrilled to welcome soprano Katy Clark to Opus 8! Katy is a 2017/2018 Rebanks Fellow at the Royal Conservatory of Music and a seasoned performer in choirs, concerts, and operas throughout North America. We're delighted to have her on board. Katy's début with Opus 8 is coming up at our May 5 concert, What Is Our Life? Until then, you can find out more about Katy, and hear her glorious singing, at her website: www.katyclark.ca.

Keep an eye on this space, where we'll periodically post thoughts, updates, reflections, and other writing from our singers. Here you might find updates on new concerts, projects, or recordings from Opus 8; more historical background about the pieces we sing than we have time to go into in our concerts; personal reflections or reactions to the music from our singers; things we think are interesting in the broader musical community; or really anything we think might be vaguely of interest to at least a few of you! We're looking forward to using this blog as a chance to engage more deeply with all of you, as well as a chance for you to get to know our members a bit better, so please comment and join the conversation. In the meantime, we hope we'll see you all at the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields at 7:30 on May 5th!

Cheers, 

Rebecca