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EESTI ELU reedel, 23. septembril 2022 — Friday, September 23, 2022
Nr. 38
(Opinions published in Eesti Elu/Estonian Life do not necessarily reflect those of the paper. The first two segments of this series have been published in previous issues.)
St Peter’s Church – A new focus – Part 3
Cover for Irene Loosberg’s album, Songs.
Photo: discogs.com
Time Machine: Preserving the sonic history of Estonians in Canada Vincent Teetsov Back in March 2020, the life of Georg Ots was discussed in relation to opera history in Estonia and Canada. But among Estonian-Canadians, there is one particular cul tural figure who needs to be mentioned with regard to opera – Irene Loosberg. Irene Louise Loosberg was born into a musical family on August 9th, 1922 in Tallinn. Here, she completed her secondary education at Elfriede Lenderi Eragümnaasium. As thousands of Estonians did, in 1944, she fled to Sweden. Then, in 1952, she and her family emigrated to Montréal, continu ing to Toronto two years later. This was where she studied at The Royal Conservatory of Music, which led to her career in the Canadian Opera Com pany. As was elucidated in an Eesti Raadio interview with Irene and her husband Paul Loosberg in 2001 (https://arhiiv. err.ee/vaata/vello-mikkser-vel lo-mikkser-irene-ja-paul-loos berg), her voice not only en thralled those in Estonian diaspora communities, but on prominent stages in North America like Carnegie Hall. A recording of her singing the aria “O don fatale” (“Oh Fatal Gift”) from Verdi’s Don Carlo in the 1960s shows her rich contralto voice, full of mystery, which gracefully glided from low to high notes. Singing the part of Princess Eboli, it’s amazing how believ ably she could convey bitter envy giving way to sorrow and fear. Among the many produc tions she was a part of, she portrayed Schwertleite in the Canadian Opera Company’s 1962 production of Richard Wagner’s Die Walküre (The Valkyrie). Her singing in Ger man is particularly enjoyable, for her characterful intonation and delivery of the language’s consonant clusters. Beyond the stage, she was a runner-up in the Canadian talent competition Opportunity Knocks, broadcast for ten years between
1947 and 1957. The show was open to composers, singers, and instrumentalists and showcased countless talented Canadian musicians. Loosberg also made an appearance on the CBC’s radio show Songs of My People. The premise of the show, as ex plained in Ezra Schabas’ book Jan Rubeš: A Man of Many Talents, was “...to perform music from different European countries, along with interesting explanatory comments.” Start ing out in May 1953, it became “one of the longest running shows in CBC history.” In these ways, through her singing Loosberg was an important representative of Estonian and broader Nordic culture to Canadian listeners. Imagine sitting at home by the radio and hearing her speak about her upbringing and pre senting an Estonian song, or seeing her name on a concert program. She represented Esto nians’ commitment to culture in her new home. Despite this, it is quite diffi cult for the general public to ac cess recordings of her singing, to find and listen to her voice now that she is no longer alive. Loosberg sang on various recordings, including one made by New Yorgi Eesti Naiskoor in 1965 and Valimik helisalvestusi kontsertidelt Massey Hall’is 1954–1969 (A selection of sound recordings from concerts at Massey Hall 1954–1969), which was put together by the Eesti Helisalvestuse Arhiiv (Estonian Sound Recording Archive) in 1988. In 1962, Merit Records (a label which published dozens of records of Estonian music from 1959 to 1977) released Loosberg’s album Songs, where she was accompa nied by pianist Salme Lohuaru. Her singing voice brought to life compositions by Johannes Brahms, Roger Quilter, Mart Saar, Robert Schumann, Jean Sibelius, and Eduard Tubin. The album finishes with Tubin’s “Noor armastus” (“Young Love”), with lyrics by poet Gustav Suits. Yet, copies of these record
Our proposed plan for the long-term financial sustain ability for St. Peter’s church is divided into 3 parts. In Part I, we identified that the level of financial support provided by our congregation at $78,393 per year will not cover the variable cost of our annual employee compensation of $138,185. It prompts us to examine the merits of maintain ing a full-time minister. In Part II, we recognized that we have a wonderful facility which was purpose-built for our large congregation. We already have the precedent for sharing it with the Salvation Army. We identified the many areas where we have excess capacity within our facility that can be leased to make up our budget’s expected shortfall. We must look at multiple options, from leasing our parking spots, our auxiliary rooms, and basement, to sharing the sanctuary. Our final Part III, however, is the most important part of our plan since it involves making our church relevant to our community once again. We must reach out to the commu nity at large and offer an inclu sive and engaging environment where organizations can find support for their activities and their events. Where we see a need to help the community, we must reach out and offer our facility. This will benefit our community and help defray the cost to maintain our church. PART 3 Event revenue: Imagine if we rented the sanctuary out for “cultural events”, concerts, and film festi vals in the evenings and on Saturdays, say twenty times a year. Revenue could be $1,500 per event. This would net us up to $30,000 per year. To facilitate a vibrant events programme, the church could establish a “Culture Fund” which will be used to support various cultural events such as choral and orchestra concerts. The fund would be seeded with targeted donation monies with an initial target capitalization of $50,000. This financial support/ seed capital would make run ning events at our church com fortable for event organizers.
are up to $2,500 for the day. With proper marketing, and promotion by an event planner, it could be rented out at least 10 times per year for a rental revenue of $25,000. The pews in the sanctuary are in good shape and could be removed and auctioned off. Their estimated sale could realize up to $10,000. The pews could be replaced by removable quality seating that can be re-arranged according to the facility use and accessibility requirements. Member Support By sponsoring events and activities we provide both the opportunity for our community to participate and connect with others to help organize worth while events. Furthering the interests of our community and the community at large can revitalize a sense of purpose in our members and broaden our membership. Inspiring a new found sense of purpose and growth in our community is essential if we are to reach out to the membership for the financial support which is with in their means. Consideration should be given to recognizing that support is dependent on “stage of life” categories such as: a. Family membership – in town b. Family membership – out of town c. Working singles – in town d. Working singles – out of town e. Youth – single f. Seniors over 65 Growing the membership To make our church more inclusive we should consider re-instating English language services. Church activities need to acknowledge the changing demographic that includes many non-Estonian speaking family members. The church becomes relevant to families if it provides pro gramming for children which is enlightening, fun, and appeal ing. Our new Sunday school program should be based on the current educational principles of childhood education.
r ecognize individual major financial donations through multiple programmes such as naming rights. For our church it would be appropriate to con sider a program called “Leave a Legacy” which would allow a member to bequeath to the church a part of their estate for permanent recognition on our memorial tree. Government Support Government funding is avail able to repair/renovate our church facility with matching donations from the member ship. These grants need only to be applied for to replace the church cross, the bell tower, and to repair the roof. It may be helpful to know that these programmes were successfully used at the Estonian House to get funds to repair the roof, upgrade the kitchen, etc. Even more funding may be available if the church is recognized as a Heritage Site. Long-Term Initiatives The columbarium currently has 311 spots. The Mount Peasant cemetery markets burial sites for cremated remains at $11,000 per niche. We have a comparable location, in town, with our columbarium. Instead of closing the columbarium, we could seek approval to expand it by an additional 100 spots, with an estimated price of $5,000 per niche (which is half price) for a total of $500,000. As required by law, the net proceeds after costs, are kept separate in a trust fund which finances the upkeep and main tenance of the columbarium. Community Activities and Volunteering Actively partner with other community organizations for events and worthwhile fund raisers and benefits.
The church sanctuary is a rchitecturally beautiful and for many couples it would be desirable for their wedding ceremony. It can be rented on Saturdays at market rates that
With the active support of our members and friends we can once again enable the church to be the centre of our community and an anchor for our culture and values. The church can become a legacy to their involvement with the church and our community. Moreover, it is possible to
ACTION PLAN: How you can help save the church and grow our community 1. Support the revitalization of our church. 2. Speak out and object to the proposed sale of our church. 3. Participate in activities that take place at the church. 4. Volunteer to help out in planned activities. Support us as we try to work with the church council to develop a realistic multiyear budget that incorporates the projected cost savings and the income from our proposed initiatives. Part 1 and Part 2 are avail able in detail on our website www.friends-of-st-peters.com
ings will defy even the most savvy cultural detective. Digitization has helped to preserve culture and to retain artifacts that exemplify Esto nia’s culture imprint on North America. Digitization has given
us convenience in accessing the sounds of the past. But there are still pieces of sonic history in physical formats that younger generations haven’t had the chance to hear. So if you’re digging through
crates in a record store or a basement out there and find Loosberg’s music, or any Estonian diaspora music for that matter, do make sure to hold onto it, to preserve it for future listeners.
Marketing the building as an Architectural Gem
Legacy Donations
