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joan szymko

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Congratulations to Joan Szymko, chosen for WSCM 2020!

Aurora is proud and excited to share that Joan was chosen from an unprecedented number of applicants from around the globe to present at the 12th World Symposium on Choral Music (WSCM) being held in Auckland, New Zealand in 2020. Held once every three years, WCSM draws choral professionals, singers, composers, and concertgoers from around the world to learn from leading, inspiring musicians. Joan will be presenting “The Greening Power of Song.”

The 2020 WSCM theme is to “explore through choral music the relationship humans have with the land that supports them: the sense of identity they derive from it and the tensions that arise out of it. We believe this is a theme that touches all of us in some way, calling to mind such notions as family, nurture, identity, place, community, culture, celebration, nationalism, colonialism, dispossession, alienation, partnership, freedom, development, interconnectedness, environmentalism, urban living, the natural world, the seasons, stress and healing, beauty, nostalgia, utopia… to name but a few!”

Aurora is so very fortunate to experience Joan’s talent, choral leadership, and heart firsthand. Explore more of Joan’s works here.

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Interested in singing in Aurora? Sung to the tune of…..

You may ask, why would you join a chorus like Aurora? Here’s your answer, sung along to the tune of “Maria” from Sound of Music, and cleverly crafted by soprano Michele Alderson.

(Think – “How do you solve a problem like Maria…..”)

We’re given songs, we scrap along and then there is a change
Soprano ones and alto twos have a different range
We’re under pitch, we want to breathe, the rhythm’s really strange
I’ve even heard a slur across the bar line

Lord knows we try so hard to never get the evil eye
We practice many hours, so it’s obvious we try
Our diction we articulate, no diphthongs need apply
We memorize the songs by a deadline

I’d like to say a word on our behalf
Aurora makes me laugh!

Why would you join a chorus like Aurora?
Why spend so much time practicing?
Why would you join a chorus like Aurora?
To use your brain cells, to make some new friends, to sing!

Many a thing that Joan would like to tell us
Many a thing we ought to understand
But how does she make us sing and listen to everything
How do we keep from raising any hands?

Oh, why would you join a chorus like Aurora?
Sharing hope and love all we can!

At rehearsals I’m confused, out of focus and bemused
And I never know exactly where I am
Timings unpredictable, foreign words inexplicable
I am dizzy, in a tizzy, in a jam

We’d out pester any pest, drive a hornet from its nest
And I think that I am going to lose my mind
Please be gentle, please be kind, help me keep track of the time!
We’re not crazy! We’re not lazy! We’re divine!

Why would you join a chorus like Aurora?
Why spend so much time practicing?
Why would you join a chorus like Aurora?
To use your brain cells, to make some new friends, to sing!

Many a thing that Joan would like to tell us
Many a thing we ought to understand
But how does she make us sing and listen to everything
How do we keep from raising any hands?

Oh, why would you join a chorus like Aurora?
Sharing hope and love all we can!

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A Sunday afternoon of “Shadow and Light”

Sunday November 4th was a chilly Portland day. I spent the morning looking at washers and dryers in a large showroom pondering the variety of options and wishing the salespeople were more knowledgeable. Very dreary.

Luckily, my afternoon was a pure delight! I joined a room full of people at the Clinton Street Theater to watch two films about Alzheimer’s that were both educational and heart-warming. First up was “The Story of Shadow and Light: Giving Voice to an Alzheimer’s Journey”. This documentary followed Joan Szymko (Aurora’s Artistic Director) in her process of learning about Alzheimer’s in order to create a musical piece of work  that would portray the human experience of Alzheimer’s.

Joan collaborated with Diane Retallack, conductor of the Eugene Concert Choir, on the piece which later became “Shadow and Light”. Together they met with a variety of people impacted by the disease. In the documentary we saw Joan and Diane talking with individuals experiencing Alzheimer and their care partners as well as Alzheimer’s professionals to understand  the emotional and practical realities of the way the disease affects a variety of people. What a treat to see these two creative women learning and working together (sometimes in Joan’s Portland garden) to produce this work.

Following the documentary and a short popcorn break we watched  a screening of the film that was made when “Shadow and Light” premiered in Eugene’s Beall Concert Hall in April of 2016. The music, both for choir and orchestra told the story about people going through the process of first being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, then living with it and finally dying. The music and lyrics set the tone for each phase and the production was professional and inspiring.

The afternoon closed with a short question and answer session featuring both Joan and Diane as well as Stephanie Foster from the local Alzheimer’s Association. CDs of the documentary and the premiere were on sale with profits going to the Eugene Concert Choir. Aurora Chorus singer, Lani Jo Leigh, owner and operator of the Clinton Street Theater donated the use of the space for the event.

When I left the theater I felt a sense of community with other theater goers, Aurora singers and all people who know that storytelling through music has the power to make the world a better place. The documentary can be viewed on youtube at aofilms.com/films/shadow-and-light. Copies of the DVD and CDs of the performance are available for purchase through eugeneconcertchoir.org.

~Aurora Board Chair Lynn Greenwood