Ken Fleet Scholarship Success - Natalie Fasheh

Ken Fleet Scholarship Success - Natalie Fasheh

The Ken Fleet Choral Conducting Scholarship is awarded annually to an Ontario choral conducting student, helping them pursue educational opportunities above and beyond their established academic curriculum. The award is funded by the Ken Fleet Choral Conducting Scholarship Fund and administered in partnership with London Pro Musica Choir, Medway High School and Amabile Choirs of London. This years recipient, Natalie Fasheh, tells us about her experiences leading her to conducting and what receiving the scholarship means for her.

Q: How did you hear about the scholarship, and what was your reaction to winning it?
A:  I met the choir 5 years ago when I was invited as a singer for an Arabic song. The choir was at that time directed by  Dr. Charlene Pauls, one my most beloved people and collaborators, whom meeting set us off on a collaborative journey of many new musical explorations. Since then I had been following London Pro Musica and learned about this scholarship. It felt like a full circle moment coming back as a guest conductor for this scholarship. When I won I was in awe and surprise. I felt quite a bit of relief after a few years of working so hard to carve out a place in this industry. I felt like many more possibilities opened up for me to learn more about conducting, in ways I did not have before, and that excited me very much! 

Q: What first drew you to music, and what made you decide to pursue it as a career?
A: My first musical passion was playing piano. Since I was a little girl I loved the piano and found solace in it. I also was singing all the time, and especially loved being in choir in high school. I saw the power of music being a vehicle for community building, expression, storytelling, youth leadership development and change in the world. I decided in high school that I wanted to grow as a musician and especially in the world of ensembles. 

Q: Why conducting in particular, and where did you first get the opportunity to try it out?
A: I feel magic in gathering a group of people to breathe in unison and sing in harmony, emotions that reverberate through each person in the room and the halls beyond- choir is a place where we can all celebrate many aspects of who we are, and respond to sociopolitical occurrences through empathy, collaboration, and creative expression. I wanted to go into conducting because I want to lead such experiences, and to set up experiences for communities to feel that magic.

I was able to dip my toes into conducting back in Jordan in my high school choir, through section leadership. While it was very different than how conducting is here in Canada, I feel the essence of it is similar in that it is a leadership role that to me makes space for others to share their own voices for a shared story, sound, experience. I had more conducting opportunities in Canada when I was in university, and that is where I felt affirmed that this is a passion of mine. 

Q: After winning the Scholarship you were invited to conduct a piece at a London Pro Musica concert, how was that?
A: It was lovely to see the choir again in this capacity. Rehearsing with the choir and also being on stage conducting the song was quite fun! I felt like I was in my element, which was an affirmation of my passion for conducting. We sang “We Are” by Ysaye Barnwell, about how with each of our lives we carry our ancestors gifts, and then create our own for the next generations. No matter how different each of us are with our lineage and identity, that we are one because we share in this same cycle of life. In our brief time learning the song together, I felt warmth, connection, and support with the choir members as I led us through the learning and explorations. It was amazing to realize how much we could explore about the meaning of the song, musicality, and nuance, in the little time we had together. 

Q: What do you hope to achieve in the future?
A: I want to grow as a conductor and artist that approaches music of many different cultures with utmost respect and adaptability. It is challenging as an Arab newcomer woman in this industry to grow authentically and achieve my career goals, without assimilating into the white settler-Canadian expectations embedded in choral conducting. I hope that in my growth as a conductor, I am able to stay true to my identity, allow wholesome acceptance of other identities. I hope to be a conductor who allows choir singers and conductors the space to feel like they can be their full selves, and boundless in their learning, singing, connection with others, through choral music making. 

I want to create vocal music spaces that allow for pluralistic music learning and exploration and conduct songs of several different cultures. want to create new and innovative approaches to choral organizations, conducting, rooted in equity and justice. I want to lead multidisciplinary sociopolitical choral projects. While building such social and cultural bridges is very challenging and emotional, I feel it is necessary for our world. I hope to reach a point in my career where I can mentor other women conductors of colour, and especially ones who did not grow up in Canada, to grow authentically themselves outside of the restraints of racism and sexism in the industry. So the legacy of Ken Fleet would continue, to foster the next generation of conductors, and for me, that needs to be from an equity lens. 

Q: How will the Ken Fleet scholarship help you achieve these goals?
A: There is often emphasis on getting a Masters degree in conducting in order to be successful. However, given my identity and culture, I had  found such importance in payed professional experience as a means to growing, learning, and developing in the industry, that is just as important as an academic experience. I also find there are many workshops and development opportunities around the world outside of academia, which I also feel are necessary for my own development as a conductor. The Ken Fleet Conducting scholarship allows me the means to go beyond academia, to travel to far off places and immerse myself in  experiential, relational conducting experiences, then to come back and contribute to the field through these opportunities. With this scholarship, I am able to be more intentional in my authentic growth, by pursuing the educational experience of my choosing without the limitations of funding. It is such a privilege to finally be able to go to a workshop to explore conducting, and learn about other conducting methodologies and approaches.