September 17, 2020 – The Canadian Chamber Choir (CCC) wishes to congratulate Montréal-based composer and pianist Edward Enman as the winner of our 2020 Composition Competition: Responding to the Pandemic.
The initiative, which launched on May 22 and concluded on September 1, encouraged Canadian composers to create works specifically for the digital realm; choral repertoire designed to utilize physical distancing and sound its very best when performed virtually by singers spread throughout Canada.
The competition received submissions from 18 Canadian composers, which were evaluated anonymously by the CCC’s artistic team: Dr. Julia Davids (Artistic Director), Dr. Joel Tranquilla (Associate Conductor), Jeff Enns (Composer-in-Residence) along with noted composer Dr. Matthew Emery, whose work is featured on our 2015 and 2019 CD releases.
Enman’s piece, “Unimagined Light” presents a setting of the poem “As Day Begins to Wane” by Canadian writer Helena Coleman (1860-1953).
“It is a brilliant work that sets this moving poem in a flexible manner,” said Davids. “Edward has created a piece that can be performed in a variety of ways – by singers over a virtual meeting platform or in a more traditional format with singers in the room together.”
The win is a full-circle occasion for both he and the CCC, having crossed paths multiple times over the past decade through other competitions and reading workshops. When it came to this particular composition, the jurors were especially moved by the simplicity of Enman’s lines, the clarity of the text, and the innovations he employed to not only allow for latency, but utilize it to great effect.
“Unimagined Light” was also particularly successful in expressing so many of the emotions being experienced by artistic communities during the pandemic.
As Enman wrote in his notes:
“This piece is meant to reflect our acknowledgement of the many forms of darkness, fear, and uncertainty which have been thrust into our lives during the COVID-19 world pandemic in 2020. The poem by Helena Coleman clearly speaks of death, but it also applies vividly to the collective grief which has recently been experienced not only from loss of life, but also through loss of jobs, security, social-interactions, and certainty towards the future.
The personal emotional turmoil during this time has been overwhelming for many people and this piece draws from those human experiences. More importantly, however, this is also a work of hope. In recognition of our trials, humanity has always relentlessly adapted and persevered. Helena Coleman’s poem gives us a broadening, light-filled response to the darkness – encouraging us forward and giving us a hope to become better versions of ourselves, together.
The final sounds in this piece are not intended to be the end of the experience for the listener. The music should have the feeling of lifting off into their lives – from the screen, from the singers, from the music into the here-and-now of the rest of their waking day. Music has revealed itself yet again during the past few months as a bringer of hope and it was with that this piece was created. Hope for stability, hope for health, hope for love, hope for social justice.“
“Ultimately, I think it will be a moving and hopeful piece for both the CCC singers and our communities,” said Davids. “I am very excited to get the CCC singers together with Edward to work on it.”
Scheduling is already underway for reading and rehearsal sessions this fall, all taking place over videoconference. A virtual premiere will take place on December 31, 2020, with CCC audience members able to tune in from around the world. Click here to RSVP.
For his winning composition, Enman will receive a $2,000 cash prize. The jury also wishes to extend a special congratulations to Justin Lapierre of Waterloo, Ontario, whose piece “au bout du monde” was given an honourable mention and will be workshopped by the CCC during its 2021 season of activities.
The Canadian Chamber Choir wishes to acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, SOCAN Foundation and the Lloyd Carr-Harris Foundation for their support in making our virtual programming possible, along with the generosity of individual donors from coast to coast to coast.