Vancouver’s Chor Leoni Men’s Choir and Artistic Director Erick Lichte announced the three finalists of their national 2018 Canadian Choral Composition Competition (C/4). “We are thrilled to bring back our C/4 composition competition,” says Lichte. “This initiative allows Chor Leoni to connect with three new-to-us composers in an extraordinary way and also allows us to share the process of creating new music with our audience.”

This year’s finalists are Gerda Blok-Wilson, Marie-Claire Saindon, and Benjamin Bolden.

  • Gerda Blok-Wilson (Vancouver BC) has written several musicals for young people, including four full-length works with playwright, Gordon Long. Her Northern Sky Awakens won a Millennium Song Award and her arrangement of Ah, Si Mon Moine won the George S Mathieson Canadian Music Award. Into a Book I Love to Go was the winner of a University of Victoria Don Wright Composition Competition award.
  • Marie-Claire Saindon (Montreal QC) first showed an interest in composition while in high school, where she wrote and produced her first musical, Jeanne (Joan of Arc). Winner of the SOCAN Young Composers’ National Awards in the vocal category (2013) and the Gregg Smith National Choral Composition Contest (2015), her choral works are published by Boosey & Hawkes and Cypress Choral Music.
  • Benjamin Bolden (Kingston, ON) has been a choral singer since his childhood. He has also performed in rock bands, concert bands, gamelan ensembles, and for ten years in professional music theatre. Ben studied composition at Carleton University with Patrick Cardy, at UBC with Stephen Chatman, and at the University of Toronto with Christos Hatzis. In 2016 Ben won the Choral Canada Competition for Choral Writing.

Chor Leoni Music Director Erick Lichte

The finalists will be brought to Vancouver in February to collaborate in rehearsal with Chor Leoni, as well as attend the premiere of their works and participate in an audience dialogue on Friday February 23 (8pm) at ANNEX (823 Seymour St, Vancouver.) An independent panel of judges will determine the prize rankings (first prize $2000, second prize $1000, third prize $500.)

The Canadian Music Centre in BC is pleased to support this amazingly creative initiative by awarding Barbara Pentland Awards for Outstanding Composition to the three finalists on an ongoing basis as part of a new Community Partnership with Chor Leoni.

C/4: Canadian Choral Composition Competition
February 23 | 8pm
ANNEX, 823 Seymour St, Vancouver
$30 TicketsTonight.ca | 1.877.840.0457

Chor Leoni’s C/4 is generously supported by James and Leslie Carter, with accommodation provided by our hotel partner, the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre.