Bestowing the Choir of the World at Kathaumixw Award to the winning Slovenian choristers exceeded the already high expectations of the choral festival’s artistic director.
Paul Cummings said the trip to Ljubljana, Slovenia to deliver the prize featured a large delegation from Powell River, plus the star of the show, the totem pole carved by Tla’amin (Sliammon) Nation carver Craig Galligos, which was “a hit.”
Damijan Močnik, conductor of the winning St. Stanislav’s Youth Choir, was very excited to see Tla’amin Chief Clint Williams, and Elder Betty Wilson, who he’d met at International Choral Kathaumixw in July 2014. City of Powell River Mayor Dave Formosa also travelled, as did filmmaker Claudia Medina who continued with the film project that already featured footage related to the creation of the totem pole in the lead-up to Kathaumixw, plus filming that occurred during the festival.
After landing, the contingent went straight to the St. Stanislav Institute to look at the concert hall to determine placement of the totem pole. The Canadians were booked into a hotel in the old city of Ljubljana, which Cummings described as being as beautiful as any city centre in the world. After meeting with the deputy mayor at city hall, the delegation toured the old city centre, which was a chance for them to get their bearings.
That evening, Cummings and his wife, Karin, had dinner with the Slovenian conductor and his family. Močnik had assembled a volume of mementos from his choir’s time in Powell River at Kathaumixw. It was filled with photographs, and every single chorister who sang in his choir and attended Kathaumixw wrote a memoir of their memorable moments at the choral festival.
There was also a letter from Cummings, which Močnik had requested he write, outlining why he thought the St. Stanislav’s choir had done so well at Kathaumixw. Cummings asked if this was a common exercise after his choir attended choral festivals. The reply was that it had only been done for Kathaumixw because that’s how special the festival was for the Slovenians.
“With a guy like him, we have a tremendous ambassador,” Cummings said. “This is a man who is known around the world as a great choral conductor and also as a prolific composer.”
The following night was an official concert at the St. Stanislav’s school. Močnik reassembled the 2014 choir that had won Choir of the World at Kathaumixw. The choir performed four songs that they had sung in Powell River to open the concert. At the concert, Wilson, who had travelled with cedar boughs, officially brushed Galligos so he could say goodbye to his carving. She then brushed the totem pole with the boughs to bid it farewell.
“It was like paparazzi phenomenon,” Cummings said. “There must have been 40 people taking photographs. It was very special.”
The Tla’amin delegation was dressed in ceremonial regalia. While Galligos and the totem pole were being brushed, a half dozen of the Powell River group were singing a Tla’amin prayer.
When the blessing was complete, a screen was dropped and the audience was shown Medina’s 11-minute video presentation featuring a chronology of the totem pole. It was subtitled into Slovenian for the occasion.
The final day, the Powell River group appropriated the totem pole and set it up in the main square in Ljubljana.
“It was amazing to see the responses,” Cummings said. “People made double-takes when they walked past because it was so out of place.”
The totem was then taken to the St. Stanislav’s Institute year-end concert at the national theatre of Slovenia. The 1,300-seat venue was sold out. The totem pole was in the foyer so that everyone attending had to walk past. The concert featured the institute’s orchestra and all of the 430 students of the institute sang in various choirs.
“The story for this totem pole is now complete,” Cummings said. “Now it’s time to share it with the international choral community.” It’s hoped that news coverage and social media will broaden the knowledge and exposure of Kathaumixw and the Choir of the World program.
“For the first totem pole, we hit it out of the park,” Cummings said.
