IN CONCERT
What: Tagaq Throat Singing
When: Tonight, 8
Where: Alix Goolden Performance Hall, 907 Pandora Ave.
Tickets: Sold out
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Preparation is key when presenting an orchestral piece with intricate, elaborate moving parts.
Or at least that鈥檚 the thinking. Once improvisation enters the arena, and Nunavut-raised throat singer Tanya Tagaq becomes one of the key components, that philosophy goes out the window.
鈥淣o one comes into a performance like this taking anything for granted,鈥� said Bill Linwood, who is conducting the Victoria Symphony鈥檚 groundbreaking collaboration with Tagaq tonight.
鈥淲e鈥檙e relaxed, but we鈥檙e ready. Because things can take an interesting turn.鈥�
Linwood has spent plenty of time in the experimental arena with the Aventa Ensemble, his contemporary chamber orchestra.
But the conductor, who is not performing in his capacity as the symphony鈥檚 principal timpanist for this performance, will have his hands full tonight. Only the orchestra has a clear direction, Linwood said. Improvised brass elements, under the direction of multidisciplinary artist Christine Duncan, will play serve-and-volley with the vocals of Tagaq, who will sing the original composition, Qiksaaktuq, in a freeform manner.
鈥淲hat makes this so special is that it鈥檚 not like she鈥檚 performing and we鈥檙e giving her a nice harmonic bed to sing on top of,鈥� Linwood said of the Inuk singer, whose performance is part of the Victoria Symphony鈥檚 Explorations series. 鈥淲e鈥檙e right in there. It鈥檚 visceral. And that is amazing.鈥�
Qiksaaktuq was performed by Tagaq and Duncan for the first time in March at Toronto鈥檚 2,630-seat Roy Thomson Hall. It was conceived as a tribute to murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls, and those who grieve for them, using the K眉bler-Ross model of the five stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance) as a framework. Tagaq and Duncan, who wrote Qiksaaktuq (the Inuktitut word for grief) with Christopher Mayo and Jean Martin, crafted the piece as a commission for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
Qiksaaktuq has since been staged in concerts with other orchestras across the country. Tonight鈥檚 sold-out performance at the Alix Goolden Performance Hall is a big step forward for the Victoria Symphony, Linwood said.
鈥淚 think the orchestra is changing the way it looks at these kinds of concerts. I think it鈥檚 wonderful, because you can see it pay off in the interest we鈥檙e getting from the community. People will be in for a real treat.鈥�
Linwood said more than45 musicians will take the stage tonight. Duncan worked with the brass this week, but a full rehearsal with the orchestra and Tagaq did not occur until Friday afternoon. Linwood has been blown away by what he鈥檚 seen so far. 鈥淐hristine [Duncan] has developed hand signals for the brass section, and will work as a second conductor. What they are doing will bounce off what Tanya is doing, and what the orchestra is doing, in a way that will actually take what is being created in another direction.鈥�
The concert will also feature compositions by Toronto鈥檚 Kristof Hatzis and Vancouver鈥檚 Marcus Goddard, in addition to a percussion concerto featuring Corey Rae. But while Tagaq鈥檚 improvisational performance is sure to turn the most heads, the performance as a whole gives the orchestra a chance to play an integral role.
鈥淚t brings the orchestra into the mix in a way that is really unique,鈥� Linwood said.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 usually see an orchestra on stage and participating like this. Normally, we鈥檙e part of the background.
But the orchestra will have a visceral presence on stage that I find is quite heartening. It brings an important message forward and it does it in a tasteful and meaningful way.鈥�