MEDIA

MISSA BREVIS IN E FLAT MAJOR
BY OLIVER MUNAR

In May 2023, Pro Coro Canada, a professional chamber choir based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, programmed MISSAE IX, a concert that was dedicated to arrangements of the traditional Latin Mass. For this concert, Pro Coro featured works by Asian composers — including me!

I’m deeply grateful to Pro Coro for the world premiere of my Missa Brevis in E flat major, a work for a cappella choir and SATB soloists. I composed the work for my parents on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary, never dreaming that an ensemble the calibre of Pro Coro would think to program it. The work includes echoes from popular Filipino love songs, as well as the worlds of opera and oratorio.

Special thanks to Michael Zaugg, artistic director of Pro Coro Canada, and Maestro Jonathan Velasco, guest conductor. And huge thanks to my Pro Coro family for breathing life into the work.

Soprano soloist: Sarah Schaub
Mezzo soprano soloist: Kim Denis
Baritone soloist: Michael Kurschat
Tenor soloist: Oliver Munar

“THOU SHALT BREAK THEM” FROM MESSIAH
BY G.F. HANDEL

One of my favourite works to sing is G.F. Handel’s famous oratorio Messiah. Recently, I have been fortunate to sing Messiah for audiences beyond Alberta, including Kelowna, BC, and Yellowknife, NT.

This performance was from December 2021 as a guest artist for Early Music Voices in Calgary, featuring the fantastic musicians of the JUNO award-winning ensemble Rosa Barocca, conducted by Claude Lapalme.

Looking for a tenor soloist for your production of Handel’s Messiah or other oratorio? Let’s chat!

CARD GAME IN NO MAN’S LAND (WORLD PREMIERE)
BY OLIVER MUNAR

With excerpts of If You Were the Only Girl in the World by Nat D. Ayer
Lyrics by Frank Prewett and Cpl. Adalard Audette

The year 2017 is the centenary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. In an event many historians consider a “coming of age” for Canada as a nation, all four of Canada’s army divisions defeated enemy forces following a four-day battle. To commemorate the event, I braided the poetry of Prewett and Audette into a new narrative and incorporated a popular song that was released in 1916, one year before the Battle of Vimy Ridge.

I premiered this work alongside Deborah Chang (viola) and Shannon Hiebert (piano) in March 2017.

AFTERNOON IN FEBRUARY (WORLD PREMIERE)
BY GEORGINA CRAIG

Lyrics by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Afternoon in February was composed for me by my dear friend Georgina Craig.

The text by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow describes a funeral scene in the dead of winter. I’m grateful Georgina entrusted me to breathe life into her music. I first premiered Afternoon in February at a studio recital in 2016, and have performed it twice since.

“IL MIO TESORO” FROM DON GIOVANNI
BY W.A. MOZART

Lyrics by Lorenzo Da Ponte

I’m a big fan of Mozart and a big fan of opera. One of my favourite roles is that of Don Ottavio, from Don Giovanni.

Here’s my sing of the Ottavio aria “Il mio tesoro”, in which Ottavio resolves to punish Don Giovanni for all the hurt and chaos he has caused throughout the opera.

Looking for a tenor who loves to sing Mozart? Give me a call!

CANDLELIGHT CAROL
ARRANGEMENT FOR A CAPPELLA CHOIR
BY OLIVER MUNAR

Music and lyrics by John Rutter

I arranged this choral staple for unaccompanied choir in December 2020. Calgary-based Luminous Voices performed the arrangement as part of its Car Concert series during the COVID-19 pandemic.