Fest 1989
I was the Assistant to the Director of Production and Tour Management for this 1989 "biggy", an international choral festival that took place throughout Toronto and suburbs for the month of June. The logistics were enormous. The opening alone featured a massed choir of 2000 children in Nathan Phillips Square. Under Artistic Director Nikki Goldschmidt, we brought in and housed performers from Wales, England, France, Spain, Germany, Bulgaria, Latvia, Finland, USSR, Tibet, USA and every Canadian province. There were 4000 performers in 71 concerts in 35 different locations, covering every kind of vocal music. There were also master classes, lectures, CBC broadcasts of 34 of the concerts, and a film documentary!
Fest 1993
After the 1989 success, Nicholas Goldschmidt mounted a second Joy of Singing in 1993, equally as interesting as the first. I came on board a Associate Company Manager for this one. We divided the international visitors among us, and my three "babies" were the Philippines Madrigal Singers, the Schola Cantorum de Caracas from Venezuala and the Prague Philharmonic Choir from the Czech Republic. Niagara Falls was a highlight for all of them. I think of them today whenever I hear news reports from their countries, and I worry about them and wonder how they are doing.
