The Real Group had two unforgettable "Good-bye, Peder"-concerts at jazz club Fasching in Stockholm last Sunday - October 24th. These were my last concerts with TRG (and also my birthday).

Or you could say it was my first gigs as a guest artist in a TRG concert!
I'm open to suggestions if the group would like to invite me again!! :-)

It surely was a fantastic night, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I can't wait to see the video.

Before we began to sing, I was terribly nervous that I would forget to mention somebody who has meant something to me during my years with TRG.
I lay awake for two nights prior to the concerts, and wrote several drafts about what to say.

And then my mind went blank as soon as I came on stage. I can't remember the last time I was so nervous. Must have been when I was a teenager.
Of course it's impossible to include everybody, but the morning after the concerts I woke up in horror, realizing that I had completely failed to:

a) say even a word of thank you to The Real Group's members
b) mention that I now live in Umeå, Sweden, together with my wife.

There were several other people whom I didn't give attention to - but I think the group deserves at least a thank you after 26 years. :-)
And my wife of course plays a major part in my life. Especially now.

It is not possible to summarize in a blog entry like this what The Real Group and its members have meant to me, on a musical and personal level.

I have been thinking about writing a book. Maybe I'll do just that one day.

To Katarina Henryson, Anders Edenroth and Anders Jalkeus
You are the best of friends, colleagues, singers, teachers and musical personalities.
It has been a fantastic 26 years of singing together!
I would not have been who I am today without you.
Thank you!!!

To Emma Nilsdotter
You are a truly gifted singer and artist. It has been fantastic to see how you bring a new and unique musical flavour to The Real Group.
Two years of singing together was way too little.
Thank you!!!

To Kerstin Ryhed Lundin
I'm so impressed how you managed to succeed in all your activities the last six months or so - one of them being to substitute for Emma during her maternity leave!
You have so much talent. And we've had a lot of fun!
Thank you!!!

To Morten Vinther Sørensen
One of the things that made me happy at Fasching was how you took the center stage position.
After having seen you with The Real Group for a little while I am sure you have what it takes
to be a TRG member - musical talent, motivation and social skills. You're great!!
Thank you!!!

To my wife
You are the loveliest person I ever met, and I simply have to see you on a daily basis, which was impossible as long as I sang with TRG and lived in Stockholm.
Now I have the opportunity to slow down a little bit and relax for the first time since 1983 or so. And to see you!
It feels great already! Thank you!!


Love to you all,


Peder
 

the same info is available at a Facebook group - here!

For info in English - see (far) below

Succékurs i vokalgruppssång tillbaka till Piteå!

"Rytmisk ensemblesång I" - under fem helger i februari-april 2011 ordnar Musikhögskolan i Piteå denna kurs för sångare som vill sjunga i vokalgrupp.

Lärare: The Real Group

(Peder Karlsson, Katarina Henryson, Anders Edenroth, Anders Jalkéus)

Under denna kurs får de deltagande sångarna pröva på instrumental-liknande sång, utmana sig själva genom koncentrationskrävande repertoar, och lära sig om nya repetitionsmetoder, bland annat.

Kursen avslutas med en konsert i Acusticums "Blackbox".

Senaste ansökningsdatum: 15 okt 2010

(I praktiken kan detta bli svårt att genomföra, eftersom denna info går ut 1:a oktober. Ring Anny Lindqvist - se nedan - och skicka in din ansökan även om ansökningsdatum har passerats, så kommer Piteå att göra så gott de kan, i mån av platser på kursen.)

Kursbeteckning: D0082G Rytmisk vokalensemble I.  7.5 högskolepoäng.
Vid anmälan, kontakta Anny Lindqvist, tel: 0911-727 37, epost: anny.lindqvist@ltu.se

De sökande ska dessutom skicka in kompletta gymnasiebetyg och en inspelning med två sånger, a cappella eller med pianoackompanjemang, om vardera 3-4 minuter samt ett CV, senast 15 oktober 2010, till: Institutionen för musik och medier, Rytmisk vokalensemble, Box 744, 941 28 Piteå

Mer info, på hemsidan hos Musikhögskolan i Piteå, finns HÄR.

Preliminär repertoarlista:

Alla talar med varandra
Words
Butterfly (arr: Makaroff/Kähärä)
Mr Father
Chili con carne
Gøta

(ytterligare 4-6 låtar tillkommer)

Prel kursplan:

1 dec - 1 feb FÖRBEREDANDE PERIOD.
Studenterna får bekanta sig med kursmaterialet på The Real Academy; - www.therealacademy.se,
där vi öppnar upp ett "virtuellt klassrum" för den här kursen.

Detta virtuella klassrum innehåller:
- en databas, där eleverna hittar kursmaterialet; ljudfiler, noter, samt beskrivande texter om pedagogiken.

- ett diskussionsforum, där eleverna kan beskriva sig själva (med några korta ord), lufta sina tankar om kursen, och få kommentarer av lärarna.

På detta sätt kan vi få ett hum om varandra redan innan kursen börjar.


5-6 feb ÖVNINGSHELG 1
på Musikhögskolan i Piteå.
Träffas, känna på repertoaren.

12-13 feb ÖVNINGSHELG 2
på Musikhögskolan i Piteå.
Repetera enligt TRG:s övningsmetoder.

19-20 mars ÖVNINGSHELG 3
Delvis lärarledd helg; på Musikhögskolan i Piteå.
Vissa självstudier i grupp, då vokalensemblen/ensemblerna får öva själva.

2-3 april ÖVNINGSHELG 4
på Musikhögskolan i Piteå.
Konsertförberedelser.

8-10 april ÖVNINGS-& KONSERTHELG
Genrep, konsert, utvärdering.

--- IN ENGLISH ---

Course program at the Academy of Music, Piteå, Sweden.

Subject: Rhythmic vocal ensemble singing.

Teachers: The Real Group

(Peder Karlsson, Katarina Henryson, Anders Edenroth, Anders Jalkéus)

The course is aimed for individual singers, who want to sing in an ensemble.

Requirements
The program assumes very good vocal abilities, knowledge in reading music, and basic music theory.

Selection procedure
the applicant sends a recording with two songs; a cappella or with piano accompaniment, and a CV, before Oct 15th, 2010, to:

All applicants need to contact Anny Lindqvist, The Academy of Music, Piteå, phone: +46 911-727 37, email: anny.lindqvist@ltu.se
The applicant shall also send a recording with two songs, a cappella or with piano accompaniment, 3-4 minutes each, and a CV, to:

Institutionen för musik och medier
Rytmisk vokalensemble
Box 744
941 28 Piteå
Sweden

Final application date: 15 okt 2010.
(In actual practise, this can be difficult, since this information is given on Oct 1st. Make the phone call to Anny Lindqvist and send in the application even if you are too late. )

Info:
http://www.ltu.se/edu/course/D00/D0082G?ugglanCat=student&ugglanSearchType=kursplan

Preliminary repertoire list:

Alla talar med varandra (Small Talk)
Words
Butterfly (arr: Makaroff/Kähärä)
Mr Father
Chili con carne
Gøta

(another 4-6 songs will be added)

Preliminary course plan:

1 dec - 1 feb PREPARATION.
The students get access to the course material at The Real Academy; - www.therealacademy.se,
where we open a "virtual classroom" for this course.

The virtual classroom includes:
- a database, with the course material; sound files, scores, and texts that describe the pedagogy.

- a diskussion forum, where the students can describe themselves (briefly), ask questions, and get comments from the teachers.

This way, we will know a little about each other before the course begins.


5-6 feb PRACTISE WEEK-END 1
at the Academy of Music, Piteå.
Meet, try out the repertoire


12-13 feb PRACTISE WEEK-END 2
at the Academy of Music, Piteå.
Practise according to TRG:s practise methods.

19-20 mar PRACTISE WEEK-END 3
at the Academy of Music, Piteå.
Some rehearsing with, and some without a teacher

2-3 april PRACTISE WEEK-END 4
at the Academy of Music, Piteå.
Concert preparation.

8-10 april PRACTISE-& CONCERT WEEK-END
Dress rehearsal, concert, evaluation

I was at Studio Brasan yesterday (The Real Group's rehearsal and recording studio) to do various things, and then they said that The Real Group will perform at VokaLarm! Rajaton had to cancel and the festival needed a good replacement. As sorry as I feel for Rajaton (and for their fans), I'm really looking forward to HEAR The Real Group in concert - for the First time in my life!!! And to hang with my old band-mates!!! It'll be a lot of fun!!!

En god vän till mig, som har beatboxat med en vokalgrupp i ett flertal år, har funderingar på att söka nya utmaningar.

Han bor i Stockholm.

Nån som har en Stockholmsbaserad vokalgrupp som söker en vokalperkussionist??

Dear Friends,

I write this note to announce that by the end of August I will leave the baritone chair in The Real Group to a new singer - Morten Vinther Sørensen from Denmark. (check video here)

I take this new direction in my life to set aside time to compose new music, and to teach vocal groups and choirs; in live sessions as well as via the Internet. To do what I have in mind is not possible to combine with a calendar filled with performing, rehearsing and recording with TRG.

I will continue to compose and arrange for The Real Group, be the Headmaster of "The Real Academy", our new online school for vocal ensemble music (to be launched very soon!), and will be the project leader of The Real A Cappella Festival 2012.

The Real Group has been in existence for over 25 years.
I want to share our experiences with the next generation of singers.

From the very beginning, The Real Group has been teaching other vocal ensembles, when our concert and rehearsal schedule has allowed us to do so.

During the last ten years or so, we have seen an increasing interest in a cappella singing; people are forming new interesting groups all over the world.

When I see young singers taking their first steps with an ensemble like this, there are so many things I want to tell them, so many experiences we have made that I want to share with them.
Not merely tips and tricks about how to make it swing and how to make it blend, for example, but also advice about how to co-exist harmoniously in a small ensemble.

I am very proud of having been part of forming the attitudes and philosophy that are the foundation of the pedagogic methods of the Real Group.

When singers direct inspirational energy into a mutual focus, then something happens with the music that one person could never have accomplished by himself or herself.
To be part of such a collective creative process is very rewarding indeed.
I want to guide my future students to such inspiration and distinct focus.

A few words, then, about my baritone replacement in The Real Group, Morten Vinther Sørensen.

Morten is currently a member of the Danish vocal ensembles Vox11 and Postyr.
I saw him in a concert in Aarhus last year, with Vox11. Half-way through the concert, Morten had a solo, and then I was completely blown away.
Several months later, we invited him to Stockholm to audition. He made a very good impression then also. :-)

In September, Morten will take my place and begin his new career with The Real Group.

I wish him all success and happiness!

To tell you what The Real Group has meant to me, musically, and personally…
… that is not possible to cover within the scope of this message!

You know, I have sung with TRG since I was 20 years old.
For now, let me just say that it has been a fantastic journey!
Maybe I'll write a book about it... or perhaps very long Blogs here at The Real Community!! ;-)

This is just a brief note to announce that we will very soon open "The Real Academy" - the educational part of The Real Community.

Actually, The Real Academy will be the first online school in the world, dedicated to vocal ensemble music.

Due to matters of security and functionality, The Real Academy is built on a separate platform - Moodle.
Which means that members of The Real Community need to set up an account also at The Real Academy, in order to access the educational programs.

We realize that this could be an inconvenience to you, but the upsides of setting up an online school with a dedicated Learning Management System are simply great.

Webcam Workshops
The first program available at The Real Academy, will be the Webcam Workshops - video conference workshops via Skype.
We have set up a Webcam Workshops space from where you access all information about these kinds of workshops, the webcam workshops calendar, info about various workshop topics, and about the teachers.

Real Vocal Ensemble Tools
The second program planned is "Real Vocal Ensemble Tools" - a complete step-by-step course for existing vocal ensembles; of all levels except Beginning.

This 12-week course gives vocal ensembles the basic tools they need to develop their group in a direction of their own preference.

Each ensemble will interact with three other "Friend Ensembles" - vocal groups that may come from a country very far away!

"Real Vocal Ensemble Tools" will need a few "test pilots" - vocal ensembles who test the program, at a significantly reduced fee.

The Real Academy will open in a couple of weeks.

Stay tuned for more info!!!

Yesterday I had a workshop session over the internet (with Skype), with Clearly Vocal from Texas; an a cappella group consisting of two women and three men.

They were all talented singers with a very good sense of rhythm and intonation. Perhaps most striking was their ability to put a lot of Feeling into their performance; I actually asked them a few times to enter "rehearsal space" - in order to clarify that there are times in a rehearsal session when you need to lay your musical visions aside for a moment and focus on some technical aspects.

Each one of them had a very natural way of grabbing the attention in their solos, in an organic way that I appreciate very much. Sometimes you see a cappella group singers doing a bit too much with their lead vocals, and sometimes too little. These singers have already found a good attitude to performance, even though they have only sang together for two years.

So I decided to not work with stage performance at all, and instead provide them with a few tools that can help them expand their range, in terms of dynamics and timbres. 

This is obviously a highly motivated group, who suffers from an absense of similar ensembles close to where they live. They responded Very quickly to my suggestions, regardless of whether the item of focus was Time, or Blend or Phrasing. This requires some courage, since some of the exercises we did puts the ensemble outside of their "comfort zone" for a while.

One of their members, Danny, had written an original composition that they sang for me. This song had an interesting form structure, it was very well arranged, and the group sang it with a sincere intensity. I liked the song a lot - It contained influences from different music genres. To hear all these influences squeezed into one song was indeed inspirational. I am looking forward to hear more from this composer/arranger and from the group.

I am also looking forward to hearing their feedback of the session! I think we did some very good work together, even if it was just one single workshop. (And here it is!)

We had a lot of fun and extended the workshop duration quite a bit. After hanging up this Skype video session, I found myself still full of energy; this group was very inspiring to work with!

I wish I could go to the AAVF support festival on March 21st...

The Danish rhythmic choirs are a couple of decades ahead of the rest of the world.

This is a unique opportunity to learn from some of the experts in the field - how can you make 30+ choir singers perform pop and jazz music in a truly convincing way? Check out the classes with Malene Rigtrup, Morten Kjaer, Jens Johansen, Jim Daus Hjernøe and others, and hear some of the best rhythmic choirs in the world perform.

Also you have the chance to attend a unique performance by Latvian vocal group Cosmos.