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Dear friends and supporters of Pro Coro Canada Back in March, when we put our performance schedule on hold and subsequently cancelled the remainder of the 2019-2020 season, we also had to set aside many new and exciting choral works. Pro Coro Canada usually performs compositions with 8, 16 or 24 voice parts, meaning singers are performing their line in groups of 2 or even on their own. Since it became clear that we would not be able to gather with all 24 singers for the foreseeable future, we adjusted our repertoire for the 2020-2021 season, and selected music that could be sung by 4 to 8 performers. We are always looking for new works by Canadian artists, and so we took the opportunity to commission 8 Edmonton composers to write a work that could be performed by 4 singers only. In order to select 8 local composers, Pro Coro engaged the help of Edmonton choral leaders who provided anonymous votes, and we would like to thank the following people for their contribution: Dr. Joy Berg, Eva Bostrand, Dr. Debra Cairns, Dr. Laurier Fagnan, Heather Johnson, Scott Leithead, Dr. Brendan Lord, Russ Mann, Dr. Leonard Ratzlaf, Dr. Ardelle Ries, Dr. Timothy Shantz, and Dr. John Wiebe. Here are the 8 selected composers with their works: Stuart Beatch - My Mother’s Body text by Zara Neukomm Jane Berry - Singing in the end text by Brandon Wint John Estacio - A prayer to bring you home text by Alice Major Allan Gilliland - How good will it feel text by Jemma Hicken Laura Hawley - Droplets text by Jeny Couzyn Margaret King - The Heart of Night text by Bliss Carman Jennifer MacMillan - What is the feeling text by Sauvé McBean Sherryl Sewepagaham - Yôtin (the wind), text in Woodland Cree-Dene Over the course of the next weeks, we will introduce the composers on our blog. In today’s first instalment, read about composer Margaret King. We are grateful to the Edmonton Arts Council for supporting this project through a Connections and Exchanges Grant.
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