New award honours work created for women’s voices
The Lirit Women’s Chamber Choir is very pleased to announce the result of the first Lirit New Composition Award. This award will be given annually to a Canadian composer for an unpublished work for women’s voices.
Lirit received 10 submissions from Canadian composers across the country and abroad. We extend warm congratulations to Prince Edward Island resident F. Jane Naylor for her winning composition, “After Mountains”. This is a dramatic choral setting of a poem by the late Joseph H. Sherman of Sydney, Nova Scotia. It is notable for its feminine sensibility that evokes the strength of the Biblical matriarchs, its contrasting vocal sections, and its rich harmonic language. The composer will receive $1,500 and the piece will be premiered by the Lirit Women’s Chamber Choir in the spring of 2019.
Naylor is an Associate Composer with the Canadian Music Centre. Her works have been commissioned by eklektikos with funding from SOCAN, and commissioned and broadcast by the CBC. She has also received grants from the PEI Council of the Arts.
This composition is especially relevant to 2018, the 70th anniversary of the State of Israel: the ‘wanderer’ in the poem is the Jewish people, and the ‘woman’ is the land of Israel. Lirit Women’s Chamber Choir is a Toronto-based group of experienced choral singers. They are committed to exploring the joy and vast range of Jewish music, whether through Jewish texts, themes or composers. Lirit wishes to thank the Judy Dan Fund for Arts and Education for generously supporting this award.
Further information about Lirit and the award is available at www.lirit.ca
Further information about F. Jane Naylor