Music Director and Conductor
Leonard Ratzlaff, music director of the Richard Eaton Singers, is Professor of Choral Music at the University of Alberta, where he co-supervises the largest graduate program in choral conducting in Canada. He was born in Alberta, and holds a Bachelor of Church Music (Mennonite Brethren College of Arts, Winnipeg), Bachelor of Arts (University of Winnipeg), Master of Arts (University of Iowa) and Doctor of Musical Arts (University of Iowa). Dr. Ratzlaff also conducts the University of Alberta Madrigal Singers, with whom he has won numerous awards, the most recent being first prize in the biennial CBC Radio Choral Competition (university choir category).
He is a frequent clinician and adjudicator, and has guest-conducted numerous Canadian ensembles, including the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Pro Coro Canada, and the Winnipeg Singers. A strong supporter of Canadian music, Dr. Ratzlaff has conducted premières of works by a number of Canadian composers, including Allan Bevan, Malcolm Forsyth, Allan Gilliland, Imant Raminsh, Sidney Robinovitch, James Rolfe and Mark Sirett.
Dr. Ratzlaff has been active in the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors, for which he served a six-year term as vice-president, president and past-president (1992-98). In 2000, he conducted the National Youth Choir/Choeur National des Jeunes, a select group of young singers from across Canada. He sang in numerous projects in North America and Europe with the late renowned conductor, Robert Shaw.
Dr. Ratzlaff's many contributions to the cultural life of Canada have been recognized with a number of major awards. In 2001, he was inducted into the Edmonton Cultural Hall of Fame. In 2002, he was presented with a Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal, and awarded the Alberta Choral Federation's highest honour, the Richard Eaton Award of Distinction for Exemplary Service to Choral Music in Alberta. In 2003, he was inducted into the Alberta Order of Excellence (the highest honour bestowed by the province), and in 2004 was appointed to the Order of Canada.
In 2006 the Choir celebrated 25 years under the leadership of Dr. Leonard Ratzlaff. The year 1981 was one of celebration for the Richard Eaton Singers. Not only could they look back on 30 years of bringing great choral performances to Edmonton’s audiences , but they also welcomed Leonard Ratzlaff as their new Music Director. And today, in 2006, we are lucky enough to continue our tradition of performing the great works of the choral repertoire under his leadership. There are very few major musical organizations that can claim such lasting relationships. Obviously, a good reason to celebrate again! For his 25th Anniversary performance, Dr. Ratzlaff chose “The Dream of Gerontius” by Edward Elgar. This is one of the grand works of the oratorio tradition, performed for the first time in the year 1900. In the performance on April 30, 2006, the Choir was jointed by tenor Scot Weir as Gerontius, and mezzo-soprano Kimberley Barber and baritone Daniel Lichti and tThe Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.
Associate Conductor and Choral Assistant 2004 - 2007
John Brough
John Brough began music lessons at an early age, singing as a choirboy with the Men and Boys Choir at Ottawa's Christ Church Cathedral under Frances Macdonnell. He attended the University of Ottawa and was awarded a Bachelor of Music in Organ Performance in 1997. Concurrently he completed associate degrees with both the Royal Conservatory of Music in Organ Performance and the Royal College of Canadian Organists. While at the University of Ottawa, he sang as a countertenor soloist and chorister with the University of Ottawa Calixa Lavallée Ensemble, as well as an early music group, Musica Divina.
Continuing post-graduate studies at the University of Alberta, he received a Master of Music in Choral Conducting in 2000, and recently completed studies in the Doctor of Music program. He has studied conducting with Lawrence Ewashko, Leonard Ratzlaff, Debra Cairns and Malcolm Forsyth.
In 2000, he was selected from a field of international applicants as one of 12 participating conductors for a workshop at the University of Manitoba with Germany's Frieder Bernius of Kammerchor Stuttgart. In 2001, he was one of eight participating conductors for the 23rd International Conducting Symposium with Jon Washburn and the Vancouver Chamber Choir. In 2002, he was a finalist in the Leslie Bell Conducting Competition, during which he conducted the National Youth Choir at a session of Podium 2002 in Toronto.
Mr. Brough has performed with the University of Alberta Madrigal Singers, Pro Coro Canada and Ensemble de la Rue, and still sings with the latter two choirs. He has taught at both Grant MacEwan College and Alberta College, and has conducted the Alberta College Women's Choir. He is an award-winning sessional instructor in the U of A's Department of Music, and interim conductor of the U of A Concert Choir. Mr. Brough is director of music and choirmaster at Holy Trinity Anglican Church, and in 2005 joined the Da Camera Singers as that choir's artistic director.
