December 3, 2012
Dear Donor,
A week ago, the boys of Capella Regalis performed with the Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra and the King’s Chorus in a presentation of Carmina Burana at St. Mary’s University. Just two weeks before that, the boys and men were in Lunenburg giving a concert in the historic St. John’s Anglican Church to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee, with the Lieutenant-Governor in attendance along with a few hundred other folk. So the boys are getting the hang of concert performance. They are also increasingly accomplished in their singing at the weekly Evensongs in King’s Chapel. These concerts and services represent the ‘public face’ of the choir. But it is in the more private settings of rehearsals where you see the really interesting things happening.
Imagine yourself as an 8-year-old boy just starting out in Capella Regalis. You may have a little musical experience; you may have none; and you find yourself in your first rehearsal, caught up in a stream of musical activity and working hard to keep up.
The boy next to you seems to have it all down. He stands up straight with his folder out, answering the director’s questions on everything from Latin to key signatures and singing the music of Palestrina, Byrd, and Bach fearlessly and in full voice. This “senior” apparently has a sixth sense: when you are lost, staring into your folder at all the black dots and foreign language, he will quietly point you to the right bar, the right page, the right piece of music. And perhaps just once, when the director asks another of his mysterious questions, he’ll whisper an answer to you – let you take the credit, just like that.
This form of leadership in the choir did not exist a year ago. The boys of Capella Regalis are discovering what it is to be a mentor. They’ve learned it from the men in the choir, from each other, and from the music. I would like our new boys to have that same opportunity, for years to come. My dream is to make this possible. Your support is crucial.
I hope you will consider making a contribution to Capella Regalis. You can do so by mailing a cheque to the address at the top of this letter. Please note: Capella Regalis has become an educational outreach programme of Musique Royale, a charitable organization with a mission to present and support music programming and education across Nova Scotia. Cheques should be made payable to Musique Royale with Capella Regalis in the memo line. A charitable donation receipt will be issued.
Thank you,
Nick Halley
Artistic Director
