Photo by Paul Orenstein, digital work by Ross Duffin, background by Gerrit Dou (17th century, Dutch)
The Toronto Consort presents Monteverdi’s masterpiece Orfeo, in concert, as David Fallis’ final production in his role of Artistic Director. Running for three shows: May 25 & 26 at 8pm, and May 27 at 3:30pm, at Jeanne Lamon Hall, Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor St West. For tickets and information, visit www.TorontoConsort.org.
JAMES STRECKER: If you were asked for 50 words for an encyclopedia to summarize what you do, or have done, in the arts, what would you say?
DAVID FALLIS: David Fallis, singer, conductor, keyboard-player, teacher, arranger, and composer, has worked most of his career with musical ensembles based in Toronto, with whom he has had many occasions to travel around the world and perform for a wide variety of audiences. His work often includes singers – vocal chamber music, choral and operatic repertoires are his particular focus and love.
JS: What important beliefs do you express in or through your work?
DF: • That music and the arts are life-affirming and community-building
• That something is better than nothing
• That we are all given unique creative talents
JS: 3 Name two people, living or dead, whom you admire a great deal and tell us why for each one.
DF: Lao Tsu and Jesus. In the original sense of admire, meaning to wonder at, I wonder at their wisdom. I also admire them in the current sense of esteem. Their words and philosophies have sustained and inspired me over many years.
JS: 4 How have you changed since you began to do creative work?
DF: I am older; I am married (very happily); I am a father, and a grandfather. More people close to me have died than when I started out, and I feel their absence.
JS: What are your biggest challenges as a creative person?
DF: I think we are all creative people, so the challenges I face are similar to most people: is my work meaningful? do I have good relations with those around me? will our children have a better or worse world to live into?
JS: Please describe at least one major turning point in your life.
DF: I suppose it was a turning point when as a young singer I passed an audition to join the Toronto Consort, because that led me to many of the fields of music that I have worked in ever since. That is also where I met my wife.
But I have always tried to be guided by the advice, attributed to Yogi Berra: “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
JS: What are the hardest things for an outsider to understand about what you do?
DF: Some people have difficulty appreciating how all-consuming a life in the arts can be.
JS: How and why did you begin to do creative work in the first place?
DF: There were two people who particularly encouraged and helped in my formation when I was young.
One was my piano teacher Court Stone. He helped me enjoy the play of music, and to appreciate the fact that you need to spend lots of time on your own working at music, and that you’d better enjoy working on your own.
The other was the choral leader Lloyd Bradshaw. He helped me enjoy the play of music, and to appreciate that you need to spend lots of time with others working at music, and that you’d better enjoy working with others.
JS: What haven’t you attempted as yet that you would like to do and please tell us why?
DF: Of course, there are pieces I would still love to work on and perform. I would also like to see whether I could compose something worth hearing.
JS: What are your most meaningful achievements?
DF: I am proud of the work the Toronto Consort has done over the years, especially in bringing to life for modern audiences works of music that have not been heard for hundreds of years. It is always meaningful when you help impart understanding for others. And to share in the magic of sound.
JS: What advice would you give a young person who would like to do what you do?
DF: Find your own passions, remember that we play music, and pray for some good luck.
JS: Of what value are critics?
DF: By critic I guess we mean someone who can distinguish and articulate what makes an experience meaningful, why one work of art is moving and thought-provoking and communicative, where another is less so. In which case a critic is very valuable, and hopefully encourages each of us to develop our critical faculty. As a performer, you are always having to decide which is the better way of doing something, so you are always relying on your critical faculties.
Maybe the problem is that not many critics write for the papers or blogs. There are lots of reviewers, and people who want to tell you what they did or didn’t like, even gossips. This kind of work is also interesting and can be valuable. I like to read book reviews, theatre reviews, music reviews, to inform me about what’s going on, but it’s not very often criticism.
JS: What do you ask of your audience?
DF: Come and hear/see/feel what we’re up to. We’re doing it for you. You may be surprised where the music takes us.
JS: What specifically would you change about what goes on in the world and the arts?
DF: The arts are not separate from the world, and everyone should be encouraged to develop their creativity and ability to communicate. I hope the borders between the arts and the world get blurrier.
JS: If you could relive one experience from your creative life, what would it be and why would you do so?
DF: Fortunately, I have never been forced to make this choice.
JS: Tell us what it feels like to be a figure who is presented somehow in the media. What effect does this presence have on you?
DF: This is one of the places where Lao Tsu helps: “Work is done and then forgotten”.
JS: Name two places you would like to visit, one you haven’t been to and one to experience again and briefly tell us why.
DF: I’ve always wanted to see some of India. It is a fascinating country, made up of so many cultures, and I am in awe of the little I know of its classical music.
I had an all-too-brief but wonderful time once in New Zealand, and would love to return, particularly to see friends and how the beach at Piha is doing.
JS: Please tell us about one or more projects that you have been working on, are preparing, or have recently completed. Why do they matter to you and why should they matter to us?
DF: This spring I’ve had the privilege of working on two operas by Claudio Monteverdi: The Return of Ulysses with Opera Atelier, and coming up shortly, Orfeo with the Toronto Consort. For my money, Monteverdi is one of the most extraordinary composers, as daring today as he must have sounded in the 17th century. I get great pleasure out of working on his music.
JS: Let’s talk about the state of the arts in today’s society, including the forms in which you work. What specifically gives you hope and what specifically do you find depressing?
DF: I do not doubt that, like death and taxes, the arts will always be with us, so I am not worried about their survival. When you perform music from over ten centuries, you quickly learn that tastes change, certain forms are preferred at certain points in history, but there will never be no music, no dance, no literature, etc. Will opera as we know it thrive in the next hundred years? Will classical ballet as we know it? Will large symphonic concerts as we know them? All of these forms are facing a certain angst today about aging audiences, engaging young people, new technologies, etc. But in the bigger picture, succeeding generations will always find and create music, and dance, and literature, and visual art to love.
JS: Finally, what do you yourself find to be the most intriguing and/or surprising thing about you?
DF: I find it surprising (pleasantly so) that I have been able to work in music my whole career, and with such personal satisfaction. My talents are modest, and I have enjoyed good fortune and wonderful colleagues. Along with the sometime difficulties of routine, there have been many moments of ineffable beauty.