By Olaf Growald
Karen Kenaston-French
The holidays will be a little different for the Fort Worth Chorale this season, what with a new conductor at the podium.
Karen Kenaston-French — who joined the chorale in May, a part-time gig she balances alongside her day job as associate professor and director of choral activities at the University of Texas at Arlington — is currently knee-deep in the holidays, prepping for three Christmas concerts in three days at three different venues, between Dec. 6 – 8.
But beyond the choir’s upcoming performances, Kenaston-French has her mind set on an even bigger challenge: finding ways to keep choral music relevant for today’s generation of listeners.
Just don’t expect to hear Handel’s “Messiah” any time soon.
Q. What led you on the road to becoming a choral conductor?
A. I grew up in West Virginia, singing in choir, singing in my school choirs, in church choirs. When I got to college, I made the top choir … Toward the end of my time in church music, I was not loving the direction toward contemporary Christian music because I’m very traditional, classically trained. I decided I would love to go back and get my doctorate, and that’s where it really turned. I went to North Texas and got my doctor of musical arts. I knew I wanted to go into collegiate conducting and teaching. I love that age of singer because they’re starting their career — they’re really passionate and like sponges for what you can teach them.
Q. What goes through your mind when you’re conducting? Do you have any interesting quirks — like, are you able to hear individual voices?
A. Well, yes. I am a perfectionist, and probably most conductors are. I pretty much hear everything. It’s constant analysis of what you just heard and thinking forward to creating the sound that’s coming up. It takes a lot of experience. For me, I have had to constantly isolate sections, just work on the basses in a section, so that I can really hear who’s doing what and then shape their sound and put it all back together. The more you do that, the more you really hear what’s going on at the micro level.
Q. What’s your vision for the Fort Worth Chorale? What sorts of boundaries would you like to be pushing?
A. I want to stretch the possibilities of what kinds of pieces we do. Everybody has had the chance to hear, you know, Handel’s “Messiah” — the standards. I’m looking for major works that maybe aren’t done as much but have real audience appeal. So, one of the ones we’re doing, for example, this April is “Te Deum” by Karl Jenkins. Karl Jenkins is a British composer who’s done an equal amount of film scores and classical composing. And this piece, it just sparkles and feels a bit like movie music, but it also has enough classical seriousness to it that I don’t feel like it’s commercial.
Q. How do you keep today’s audience engaged with choral music while still staying true to tradition?
A. I feel like choral music — that is sung with really phenomenal, unified tone and blend in itself — just transports the listener. They don’t even realize it, but it becomes a timeless, almost spiritual experience if it’s done well. I definitely trust my instinct when I find music that I feel really touched by and gives me chills.
Q. There’s conversation in the music world about women conductors — how there are so few of them. In your experience, how often do you see a woman conducting a choir or orchestra? Is there a ceiling that needs to be broken?
A. It is unusual at the university and professional level. Still, it’s changing a little bit. For me, I mean, all of my mentors have been men, so that tells you something. I appreciate that they saw something in me. At every level, those mentors personally went out of their way to get me a job. They didn’t just write a letter; they called people. They personally helped me.
Q. What do you think needs to be done to get more women at the podium?
A. I think, gradually, people like me, being at the university level, mentoring women in my program and helping them find good positions and encouraging them to go on and do graduate work. I don’t single out my women over my men though; I’m trying to mentor them all. But I think the more people see people like me doing it, then they can envision themselves doing it as well.
Q. When you’re not conducting, what music do you like to listen to? Anything that might surprise us?
A. Well, funny enough, I don’t really listen to much music on my own because it’s distracting to me. I can’t have music on in the background. In my car, I listen to “The Ticket,” sports talk radio. But if I’m just at home cooking or whatever, I’ll listen to singer-songwriter types, like Diana Krall, Norah Jones.
Q. “The Ticket,” huh? So that explains why you brought a golf bag to your photo shoot today.
A. Yes. In a way, [golf is] an extension of my creativity as a musician. It’s problem-solving. Every shot that you have to hit on a golf course has a couple of different options for how you could do it. I love it from the standpoint of complete stress relief — you’re always in beautiful scenery, and you’re out getting fresh air for hours.
By Olaf Growald
1. Golf clubs. Karen is a passionate golfer and plays at the Rolling Hills Country Club in Arlington. // 2. "Beagle Mom" Like any singer, a warm beverage is essential for Karen. // 3. UTA faculty ID. Karen spends most of her time at UTA, working her day job as a conductor and music professor. // 4. Sheet music. This piece is "The Bird of Dawning" by Bob Chilcott. // 5. Kukui beads. From her favorite resort in Hawaii, the Ka'anapali Beach Hotel. // 6. Color wheel. Karen uses this to help her pick clothing. // 7. Wine opener. // 8. A photo of Buddy, Karen's beagle.
