{"id":123753,"date":"2026-04-30T09:10:23","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T13:10:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=123753"},"modified":"2026-04-29T15:56:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T19:56:35","slug":"interview-laurie-evan-fraser-talks-upper-canada-choristers-premiere-common-ground","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2026\/04\/30\/interview-laurie-evan-fraser-talks-upper-canada-choristers-premiere-common-ground\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Laurie Evan Fraser Talks About Upper Canada Choristers Premiere Of Common Ground"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Upper Canada Choristers and Cantemos Choir, with Artistic Director Laurie Evan Fraser (centre) (Photo courtesy of Upper Canada Choristers)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Upper Canada Choristers will premiere a work by Artistic Director Laurie Evan Fraser<\/strong> at their next event. Common Ground is a six-movement work that Fraser wrote for the choir, and it\u2019s the centrepiece of their spring concert.<\/p>\n

Finding Common Ground: Where Music & Love Meet takes place on May 8 at Grace Church on-the-Hill. The choir\u2019s Latin ensemble, Cantemos<\/strong>, is also featured in the program, with accompaniment by pianist (and Ludwig-Van contributor) pianist Hye Won (Cecilia) Lee<\/strong>, and guest oboist Karen Ages<\/strong>. Matthew Secaur<\/strong> and Ayako Ochi<\/strong> will conduct.<\/p>\n

Along with Common Ground, rounding out the May 8 concert will be songs on the theme of empathy and understanding by Broadway composers Richard Rodgers, Lerner and Lowe, and others. Cantemos will perform Venezuela\u2019s unofficial national anthem, Alma llanera (Soul of the Plains).<\/p>\n

LV spoke to Laurie Evan Fraser<\/strong> and Jacqui Atkin<\/strong>, the choir\u2019s Founding President, and one of the lyricists for Fraser\u2019s Common Ground.<\/p>\n

Laurie Evan Fraser & Jacqui Atkin: The Interview<\/h2>\n

Laurie Evan Fraser\u2019s composition Common Ground was inspired by the writings of U.S. historian Dr. Heather Cox Richardson. Richardson is known for advocating for art as joyful resistance. Fraser dedicated the piece to Professor Richardson \u201cfor helping to keep us sane and hopeful in trying times\u201d.<\/p>\n

Evan Fraser comments in the introduction to the opening song of the collection, Seeking Empathy:<\/p>\n

\u201cSurvival at its essence is meeting the basics to ensure life. Sometimes that is all we can manage but, if we can, we help those we love and those our loved ones love. The care ripples out. Then we don\u2019t just survive, we thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fraser strongly connected with Richardson\u2019s message about art as an antidote to the troubled world we live in.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know anybody who has not been very concerned with the world situation that\u2019s going on,\u201d Fraser says. \u201cWe started following some of her work. I found it very illuminating and helpful,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n

What resonated in particular was the way Professor Richardson connects her message, and the current state of world affairs, with a historical context. Seeing how the dire situations of the past have improved over time offers hope.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut then there\u2019s this growing group of people who are saying, what is it that we can do about it?\u201d Laurie asks.<\/p>\n

Richardson\u2019s words offered more than hope; they offer a way forward. \u201cIt will be the artists among us who make progress first,\u201d she says. Playwrights, poets, musicians, visuals arts and others can play a crucial role by offering inspiration.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo then, I started thinking, what does it mean personally to me?\u201d Fraser wondered. \u201cI\u2019ve got two poets in the choir that I can work with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jacqui Atkin<\/strong>, who co-founded the choir with Fraser, is a regular collaborator.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very much in accord philosophically,\u201d Fraser says. A member of Cantemos, Venezuelan-Canadian tenor Jacinto Salcedo<\/strong>, is also a poet. \u201cI started talking to them, the end of June, the beginning of July,\u201d she recalls. \u201cI said, I think we need to write a multi-movement work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fraser says that, after that discussion, Salcedo wrote two complete poems in a single night.<\/p>\n

Six Movements<\/h3>\n

The piece begins with an evocation of the struggles of life. \u201cI can\u2019t work any harder, I can\u2019t give anymore. What can I do?\u201d Fraser details. \u201cI particularly drew my inspiration from my father, who had been involved with the coal mines in Pennsylvania,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Her father had told her horrific stories about the dangerous working conditions he\u2019d had to endure just to survive and get through life. But, improvement is always possible.<\/p>\n

The opening movement is modelled in terms of form after a type of French song. The idea builds with the addition of each voice. \u201cThe basses are just focused on work,\u201d Fraser explains. The tenors come in, offering a more hopeful message. \u201cIt seems like a really good place to start with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Salcedo wrote the lyrics for the second movement. \u201cHe was inspired by a picture of the children of Gaza at play,\u201d Laurie says. It\u2019s titled Ni\u00f1o de nadie, Ni\u00f1o de todos (Nobody\u2019s Child, Everyone\u2019s Child). \u201cIt\u2019s a very poignant and visceral movement about the reality of innocents caught in wartime.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fraser wrote the music for those lyrics for the Cantemos basses and tenors to sing against an oboe obligato.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe third movement, also in Spanish, was inspired by the story of a man, a non-registered immigrant in the United States, who wanted to attend his daughter\u2019s graduation,\u201d Fraser says. It\u2019s titled Sin Fronteras (Borderless).<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Latin American culture is so different form ours,\u201d Fraser says. \u201cThey celebrate life, no matter what is going on. They retain that spark of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

The movement is written in the form of a waltz. \u201cI was clearly inspired by Jacinto\u2019s text, but it\u2019s the man and his wife dancing together.\u201d It\u2019s an a cappella movement where all the singers join in.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fourth movement is Come As You Are,\u201d Laurie says. She notes that, as a common colloquial expression, we don\u2019t always think about what the meaning behind it. \u201cThe choir is very diverse, so it\u2019s sung in several languages,\u201d Fraser adds. That includes English, Spanish, French, Tagalog, Japanese, and Swedish. \u201c[The phrase] could be translated to other languages,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the interesting things was, I wanted an Indigenous perspective, so I reached out to Indigenous [artists], and they said, \u2018we don\u2019t have a translation for that\u2019.\u201d The idea of not<\/em> coming as you are, in other words, is completely foreign to Indigenous cultures. \u201cIt\u2019s what they fundamentally believe, not a slogan.\u201d<\/p>\n

It underscored the realities of trying to connect with Indigenous communities. \u201cA lot of work needs to be done to understand what we\u2019re all saying.,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s a rich and rewarding work, but you have to want it, and you have to listen carefully.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fifth movement revolves around the theme, Joy Commeth in the Morning. It\u2019s a non-denominational concept, but Fraser says that many choristers recognized Buddhist and other spiritual beliefs in it. \u201cThere are more things that we share than separate us,\u201d she notes.<\/p>\n

That, of course, is the underlying theme that runs throughout Common Ground. \u201cHopefully it makes it more accessible to everybody. The message is, underneath it all, we all want the same things. We all want a good life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fraser says that the fifth movement is a musical expression of what makes people happy, and includes some solo passages, some highly rhythmic passages, and some spoken parts.<\/p>\n

The final and sixth movement, Bless the Day \u2013 a Reflection, refers back to the previous movements. It begins with the basses, and has a reflective character, but not like a hymn per se, in keeping with the overall message of the work.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then at the very end, there\u2019s a quote from the oboe from the second movement,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Choir As Community<\/h3>\n

The English-language movements feature poetry by Jacqui Atkin<\/strong>, who was equally inspired by the theme.<\/p>\n

\u201cI firmly believe that if we can all stop and listen to each other \u2014 [while] we might not all agree \u2014 we have a better chance of going forward without a lot of the incredible stuff that\u2019s going on right now,\u201d Atkin says. \u201cWe started this choir to do community work, but the community is hurting right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJacqui and I have written several things, and the intent was to help the issues, whatever they might be, and encourage healing,\u201d Fraser adds. \u201cAnd it\u2019s been remarkably successful. Responses from singers and audience members to previous works like this \u2014 the response has been really gratifying,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Even within the choir, music was used to bridge gaps.<\/p>\n

\u201cMusic has incredible healing powers,\u201d Fraser says.<\/p>\n

She notes that the Upper Canada Choristers often perform at a Ukrainian long term care home in Toronto. After the war in Ukraine began, the choir added a Ukrainian piece to their repertoire.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we sing it, we can hear them singing in their rooms and down the hall. There\u2019s a connection there, and a feeling of deepened understanding.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the modern era, however, new and renewed conflicts seem to spring up almost every day.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve gone form one conflict to another. It seems like there isn\u2019t a part of the world that isn\u2019t affected,\u201d Laurie says. \u201cIt inspired what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Concert Details<\/h2>\n

Finding Common Ground: Where Music & Love Meet<\/strong> takes place May 8<\/strong> at Grace Church on-the-Hill<\/strong> (300 Lonsdale Road). Tickets can be purchased to attend in-person, and children aged 16 and under are admitted free when accompanied by an adult.<\/p>\n

The concert also streams live via the choir\u2019s website. While there is no charge, donations are gratefully welcomed.<\/p>\n