Chad Louwerse makes a terrific dipsomaniac, or so say his critics. Do a quick Google search for the TWU alum and you will find reviews such as Opera Canada’s and The Globe and Mail’s, hailing his performance as the inebriated astrologer, Sirocco, in The Montreal Opera’s production ofL’Etoile. “Very funny,” a critic from Ópera Actuelapplauds, “vocally ideal.”
“I’m a bass-baritone,” Chad explains one chilly November evening, getting ready for a dress rehearsal of the Vancouver Opera’s season-opener, Eugene Onegin. “That means I usually play the bad guys: the drunk, the idiot, the murderer, the assassin, or occasionally Satan.” He laughs, “That’s a question for you: how does a Christian portray Satan?”
It’s these types of questions that Chad struggled with during his undergrad years. “I told my voice teacher I would never do opera,” he admits. “At the time, I couldn’t reconcile working in the arts and having a vital relationship with God.”
Ten years later, Chad is a passionate example of how someone can do both, and can do both well. He speaks with equal conviction about the importance of being a Christian ambassador in the world of Canadian opera, and of his love for his profession.
Chad began his degree in religious studies, with a goal to enter the ministry or mission field. His Northwest Baptist College program included a TWU music minor, requiring voice lessons. Those classes, with instructor Ingrid Suderman, opened a door Chad had never considered before. He changed his major to music, and–with the encouragement of mentors like Suderman and TWU Director of Choral Activities, Wes Janzen, DMA,–never looked back.
“My heart won’t let me do anything else,” he confesses. “That’s the only reason to get involved in the arts.”
After graduation, Chad enrolled in a Master in Opera program at UBC. He found that the secular environment did present new challenges, but also found support through the Masterworks Festival, an annual event that brings together Christians from all corners of the arts. “These are people who see being God’s vessel as their purpose in life,” Chad says enthusiastically. He has other reasons to be thankful for the event, as it’s where he met his wife, Anita, a singer and violinist.
"My heart won't let me do anything else."
Chad began singing with the Vancouver Opera Touring Ensemble, and eventually left the Masters program to pursue singing opportunities in earnest. He won a placement at the elite Atelier Lyrique de L’opera de Montreal, a “finishing school” for opera singers. The couple moved their two young sons, Joshua and Benjamin, to Quebec, and Chad spent two years in the intensive program of lessons, auditions, performances, and networking.
They have since moved to London, Ontario, which acts as a home base while Chad travels to perform roles across the country. He appears in three Vancouver operas this season. After playing Captain Petrovich and Zaretsky in Eugene Onegin, he returned to the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in the production of Rigoletto and Salome. He will also join the TWU choirs for a performance this spring. It’s an occasion for him to look back to the time when he was just beginning to try out his vocal chords.
“When I was at TWU, I spent so much time fretting about what God’s will for my life was that I sometimes forgot to live it,” he remembers. “While we need to be practical, we also need to follow our hearts and our interests, and trust the Lord to help us figure it out.”
by Veronica Collins '06