WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE?

University of Regina’s Melissa Morgan on Gospel Music and the City’s Dynamic Art Scene

The associate professor, choral conductor and CAA Member shares her favourites.

By Nicole Keen

Melissa Morgan uses her voice to sing, to inspire and to teach. As an Associate Professor in choral music at the University of Regina, she’s shaping the next generation of vocalists. She was recently awarded the Saskatchewan Order of Merit in honour of her contributions to the arts. Morgan has lived in Regina since she was a baby and travels extensively as a conductor. She has performed with her choirs at the Lincoln Centre, New York, and Cadogan Hall, London, England, and often serves as a clinician and guest conductor with choirs in North America. World travels aside, she is a content homebody. In her spare time, you can find her supporting the local music and theatre scene or exploring nature with her beloved dog, Flash.

A woman wearing glasses and a floral top, smiles and poses against a dark grey background

If you could sit down with a musician living or dead, who would you choose?

Frédéric Chopin. I love his piano pieces, the nocturnes in particular. Just [from] reading history books, it seems like he was a weird kind of guy, so I'd love to pick his brain. Jeanine De Bique is a Trinidadian opera singer who is taking Europe by storm. I follow her on Instagram and I think it would be really neat to connect with her.

Where did your most memorable performance take place?

I took the University of Regina choirs on a tour to England, and we sang a concert that was dedicated to African American composers. We [performed] in the beautiful Cadogan Hall, and the Honourable Ralph Goodale [Canada’s High Commissioner in the United Kingdom] and his wife came to our concert. They invited us to Canada House the next day, and the Canadian Tenors were performing. We sang Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” together, and it was just this really beautiful moment.

What do you like to do in Regina when you’re not working?

I go to Regina Symphony Orchestra concerts, the Cathedral Village Arts Festival, the Mosaic festival. We’ve got local choirs that give concerts, and I try to go to as many of those as I possibly can. Darke Hall has so much going on right now; they have a beautiful lineup of performances and events, as well as the Globe Theatre.

What type of music do you never get tired of hearing?

I never get tired of gospel music. I grew up listening to gospel, so anything by CeCe Winans, Kirk Franklin, Richard Smallwood, Andraé Crouch or Nathaniel Bassey. If those names were the only thing I had on my playlist, I'd be happy.

Where do you like to walk your dog?

Flash loves her walks in the parks. I'm a North Ender, so there are many paths in the Normanview and Westhill area. Our favourite park is the A.E. Wilson Park. It's very peaceful and quiet. CAA

A woman smiles, wearing drop earrings and an off-the-shoulder floral top; A black-and-white portrait of a man in a dark coat

A tan and white dog with brown eyes looks at the camera; A stone building with several Canadian flags hanging on the front of the structure

(Clockwise from top left) Trinidadian opera singer Jeanine De Bique; Frédéric François Chopin; Canada House in London; Morgan’s dog Flash, who loves her walks in A.E. Wilson Park. | PHOTOS: COURTESY OF JEANINE DE BIQUE; LOUIS-AUGUSTIE BISSON/WIKIPEDIA; PROMICOSTOCKRAW/DREAMSTIME.COM; COURTESY OF MELISSA MORGAN