Voices of Earth: The Journey

The story behind commissioning music from Stephen Chatman

By Joanna Ebbutt

UCC concert, Spring 2004

Do you ever wonder how many community choirs are able to commission new choral music? It can be a mammoth undertaking, but ever since its 1994 inception, Upper Canada Choristers’ co-founders Laurie Evan Fraser and Jacqui Atkin pursued that dream. Artistic Director Laurie was eager to widen UCC’s musical range by commissioning Canadian composers to write something specifically for us, that would reflect the spirit and values of the choir.

One of the barriers was financing such an undertaking. In our early years, UCC’s budget was exceptionally modest; there was, for example, no money to pay an accompanist, which meant that Laurie had to both conduct and play… not an easy feat.

Through perseverance, serendipity (when it came to the finances), and a passion matching that of each of the composers – all Canadian – that we worked with, UCC has commissioned six magnificent choral works. And we also collaborated with percussionist David Tomlinson to produce the unique Inspiration Collage.

In the beginning

Two years before the choir’s 10th anniversary, Laurie and Jacqui felt it was time to commit to making a commission. As it happened, a couple who sang in the choir were about to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. Instead of holding the usual anniversary celebration, Karen and Robert Vanderzweerde created the Vanderzweerde Anniversary Fund, with the intention that it “acquire something of lasting value for the choir.” This very generous donation made it possible for Laurie to commission a piece, with music and text written by Canadians, that would reflect Canadian culture.

While the funding was coming together, the 2002 PODIUM Conference, which is Choral Canada’s national biennial bilingual choral concert and festival was held in Toronto. Podium had partnered with Choirs Ontario, and the event was held on the University of Toronto’s downtown campus. Laurie and Jacqui decided to attend because Canadian composer Stephen Chatman was giving several workshops, and they were already great admirers of his work. UCC had previously sung his Songs of a Prospector. “It greatly appealed to me,” says Laurie, “because it tells the story of life at a particular time in Canadian history.”

The music

After one of his workshops, Laurie and Jacqui approached Chatman. They told him that they hoped to commission a choral work for our 10th anniversary and that they were looking for something like Songs of a Prospector, which had resonated so strongly with the choir. They wanted the piece to comprise multiple movements, all tied to Canadian themes.

Stephen Chatman

At this point in his career, Vancouver-based Chatman was already internationally recognized, and UCC had no idea what was involved financially. Nonetheless, Chatman said that he was interested, and would give it serious thought. Sometime after returning to BC, he told Laurie that he would like to go ahead.

The process

According to Laurie, Chatman was “fantastic to work with… we could not have chosen a better foray into the commissioning process. He explained every step of the way.” This included an introduction to the Canadian League of Composers, which maintains a schedule of suggested commissioning fees that are generally based on so much per minute. “We were looking for something that would be about 10 minutes long. Steve was very accommodating and willing to work with us,” said Laurie.

As she and Jacqui had decided that the money donated by the Vanderzweerdes should be used for the music, the accompanying lyrics would have to come from the public domain. Chatman asked them to send him all possible texts. In September 2002, Laurie asked UCC choristers to send in suggestions, and the ideas poured in.

However, Chatman was very specific about what inspired him, and initially nothing did. Happily, one of UCC’s long-time (to this day) choristers, Heather Young, came up with a suggestion. While studying for her degree in English literature, she had come across the poetry of Archibald Lampman, a Confederation-era poet who has been described as the Canadian Keats. Loving his poetry, she suggested UCC consider Voices of Earth as the text for our commission. Bingo! Chatman liked it immensely and began to compose the music to accompany Lampman’s evocative words.

“One of the wonderful things about working with Steve,” says Laurie, “is that he was willing to come to Toronto and hold two workshops with us during the week prior to the concert. I really wanted the choir to have this experience, and to have him tell them what had inspired him to use this specific poem.”

Conclusion

Stephen Chatman found the experience of working with UCC as positive as we found it working with him! As a result, Laurie and Jacqui decided that the choir should commit to commissioning music on a regular basis.

And that was how it all started. Since then, UCC has commissioned original work from Mark Sirett (for our 15th anniversary), Stephen Hatfield (for our 20th anniversary) and again from Stephen Chatman for our 25th anniversary.

Our most recent commission, to celebrate Cantemos’ 15th anniversary, is from renowned Venezuelan composer, Cesar Alejandro Carillo, and it will be premiered at our upcoming concert on May 12, 2023. Next year marks UCC’s 30th anniversary, which will be celebrated through a commission from London, Ontario-based composer Sarah Quartel.

The story behind each these commissions will appear here over the next few months. Stay tuned!