Vancouver pianist Ken Cormier dives into some of his favourite songs at Chor Leoni’s PopCappella 3D
Joining Cormier and the 60-voice choir are Laurence Mollerup on bass, Liam MacDonald on percussion, and Keith Sinclair on guitar
Ken Cormier.
Chor Leoni presents PopCappella 3D from March 7 to 9 at the Rio Theatre
LOCAL MUSICIAN KEN Cormier remembers going to a second-hand shop with his parents when he was in Grade 2 while living in Princeton and his mom and dad eying a used piano. They bought it for $120, setting Cormier on a path that would become his life’s work.
Originally from Quebec’s Gaspé region, Cormier moved to Vancouver after high school and went on to earn a degree in piano performance from the University of British Columbia. He began his career with three seasons as a repetiteur with Vancouver Opera. From there, he moved into the professional musical-theatre scene with Vancouver’s Livent and Arts Club Theatre Company, first as a pianist and keyboardist, then as musical director of numerous Stanley Theatre productions with the latter. Most recently, he worked on the Arts Club’s Guys and Dolls, Jersey Boys, and Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol.
Just as at home in the classical and jazz idioms as he is in the popular realm, Cormier regularly performs as accompanist, recording session keyboardist, chamber musician, and jazz pianist.
“Before I really dug into serious formal study and practice, around age 11 or even earlier, I had a teacher who encouraged students to be composers as well,” Cormier recalls in a phone interview with Stir. “Playing stream-of-consciousness piano as a pre-teen was something I always found inspiring and relaxing and expressive. The more training I got, the more I thought I could get into those things.
“The expression of an inner state is something that music has afforded me,” Cormier adds. “In some ways that’s always something that’s going on in music. With a choir you’re dealing with text and singing words that have specific meanings, but of course the thing that makes it all the more powerful is the unspoken expression that comes from the music. It makes things exponentially more impactful. Music is one of those things like the sense of smell that can take you back decades. Once a piece of music gets registered in your brain, it can take you back decades as soon as you hear it.”
Cormier’s next appearance is with Chor Leoni for PopCappella 3D taking place March 7 to 9 at the Rio Theatre. The concert by the 60-member ensemble features songs by the likes of U2, Leonard Cohen, Bob Marley, k.d. lang, The Supremes, and more. On the program is “Ahead by a Century” by The Tragically Hip and “September” by Earth, Wind & Fire. The concert will also feature several choral-arrangement premieres, including Jake Levesque’s heartfelt “Somebody Loves You”, commissioned by Chor Leoni community member Sean Murch as a tribute to his late teacher’s legacy.
Chor Leoni.
Chor Leoni artistic director Erick Lichte says the heart of the PopCappella 3D experience is infusing the sound and artistry of choral music into popular songs.
“This allows the magic of Chor Leoni to shine through in songs people know and in a musical style that our audience already knows,” Lichte tells Stir. “But what I have found is that the impact and even the meaning of these songs changes when 60 singers join voices together, versus when a lead singer delivers the song. A song like ‘We Belong’ made famous by Pat Benatar takes on a power and meaning that hits differently when it’s sung by Chor Leoni.” (The “3D” element comes from projections on the movie screen.)
“I think people will be surprised at how this year’s songs will be so familiar and yet feel so fresh through the choir’s singing,” Lichte adds. “This year’s concert is decidedly upbeat and positive. I wanted each piece to have joy as its root and give the audience a chance to immerse themselves in something which, to its core, feels good and is full of positivity.”
Joining Cormier for the performance are Laurence Mollerup on bass, Liam MacDonald on percussion, and Chor Leoni’s very own Keith Sinclair on guitar.
“I get to sink my teeth into some of my favourite songs,” Cormier says of the concert program. “We discover new songs as well. This year we’re doing ‘My Girls’ by the Animal Collective. If anybody even knows about the Animal Collective, they wouldn’t think it would work with a 60-voice choir, but it does. It’s always a combination of old favourites and new discoveries, and the singers of Chor Leoni sing with such commitment that the end product never ceases to astonish me.
“There’s nothing like hearing a choir of men sing at a high, proficient level like Chor Leoni does,” he says. “It’s more than just a group; it’s a community of brothers.” 
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