Watch The King’s Singers and the Choir of the National Cathedral Premiere New Music Prize Winners in Online Concert

Dispatch

Feb 12

Music provides healing and community in times of suffering and discord. The King’s Singers New Music Prize brings new music to today’s world, leaving it a richer place.

The King’s Singers will perform the premieres of the four winning compositions from Eli Hooker Reese, Parker Kitterman, Jeremy Beck and Geert D’hollander on February 28 during their concert with the Choir of the National Cathedral (Cathedra). The concert will be conducted by the Cathedral’s Director of Music, Canon Michael McCarthy. The broadcast will come from both Washington National Cathedral and the UK.

The King’s Singers New Music Prize concert is the culmination of The Cathedral’s Sacred Choral Music Online Festival (February 26–28) and will feature other works performed by the two vocal ensembles — including a performance of Eric Whitacre’s Sleep by members of the Cathedra, The King’s Singers— as well as appearances by special guests.

The British a cappella ensemble The King’s Singers has delighted audiences worldwide with their virtuosity and rich repertoire of classic and original works for more than half a century, winning two Grammy® Awards, an Emmy® Award, and a place in Gramophone magazine’s inaugural Hall of Fame. Its members have experienced first-hand the powerful benefits music gives people of all ages, genders, races, and circumstances, especially in difficult times.

This experience, combined with their core mission to help grow the choral repertoire through new music, led them to create The King’s Singers Global Foundation, which commissions new works from established and upcoming composers around the world, with a focus on overlooked songs, languages, and traditions. The group has commissioned more than 200 works to date.

In 2020, early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the Foundation decided to do something special that would encourage and reward creativity at a time when people and the arts were suffering.

In partnership with Washington National Cathedral and choral publisher Walton Music, they created The King’s Singers New Music Prize, a competition for US and Canadian composers to submit an original choral piece in one of four categories, using one of five texts chosen by The King’s Singers and Charles Anthony Silvestri, a choral lyricist and historian (and a special guest on the 28th).

Each winner would receive a $1,500 cash prize, a premiere performance of their piece on the February 28 concert, a recording of their work, and the opportunity to have their piece published by Walton Music.

In advance of the deadline for submission, the Foundation invited interested composers and patrons to a series of free online workshops hosted by influential figures in composition, poetry, conducting, and publishing, an example of The King’s Singers’ commitment to work within the community to help nurture the next generation of composers. Links to the workshops are available here.

The Foundation and Washington National Cathedral originally planned to celebrate the Prize and the winners at a live concert at the Cathedral. As stages across the globe remained dark, they stayed true to their word and re-shaped the concert into a webcast, ensuring the four winning compositions would receive their premieres.

They received 347 submissions, far exceeding their expectations. And quantity was matched by quality, spurring the jury to pick not just the four winners but four honorable mentions and 11 jury commendations as well.

The jury was chaired by award-winning composer/pianist Gabriela Lena Frank, and included Eliza Bradley, MNZM, director of Toronto Children’s Chorus; composer/arranger Stacey V. Gibbs; The King’s Singers bass Jonathan Howard; former King’s Singer and educator David Hurley; Michael McCarthy, director of music at Washington National Cathedral; composer and director of the Young People’s Chorus of New York City Francisco Núñez; and Mack J. Wilberg, music director of The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square.

The King’s Singers did a first pass through the submissions to create a short list. Then, in December, the jury met virtually to review and discuss them — just the music, without any other information about the composers.

Besides the winners — “just the tip of a wonderful iceberg,” as a King’s Singers blog post put it — honorable mentions were given to works the whole jury wished to recognize, while individual jurors also gave commendations to pieces they felt merited particular recognition.

In the SATB Under 18 category, the winner is first-time composer Eli Hooker Reese of Minnesota, for his setting of Silvestri’s poem “When All Falls Silent,” which Silvestri wrote especially for the Prize. The jury called it a “gem of lyricism and open voicings that truly allow for its beautiful harmonies to shine.”

“I never would have expected to win any recognition for my first attempt at composing choral music, much less this prize from one of the groups that began my fascination with its beauty!” said Reese.

Philadelphia-based composer/keyboardist/conductor Parker Kitterman won the SATB 18 and Older category for his rendering of the poem “The Singing Bowl” by Rev. Dr. Malcolm Guite.

“It is a tremendous honor to be awarded this prize,” said Kitterman. “As someone who writes most often for my own enjoyment, it is rewarding to know that, through this recognition, my music can provide some small pleasure and comfort for others as well.”

Kentucky resident Jeremy Beck’s setting of “Invitation to Love” by Paul Laurence Dunbar won the Children’s Choir category, leaving some members of the jury wanting to share it with their own youth choirs.

And the judges agreed unanimously that Florida-based Belgian-American composer Geert D’hollander’s setting of Silvestri’s “When All Falls Silent” was a worthy winner in the category of works for The King’s Singers themselves. The “closeness and lushness of the chording and the rhythmic and metrical variations within the music and text-setting [give] it a freshness not often seen in this kind of modern writing,” the judges said.

Jonathan Howard, bass in The King’s Singers and the group’s representative on the New Music Prize jury, said: “In a year full of challenges, setbacks, and divisions, we were all profoundly encouraged and inspired by the number of first-rate composers — of all ages and from all walks of life across North America — who felt moved to write a new piece of music for this competition. Our primary aim for the New Music Prize was always to promote how valuable both creativity and music can be for revitalizing and restoring us. This was evidenced across every category. ... I’d like to thank each of you who took the time to write a piece — it’s truly moved and humbled us all.”

To support The King’s Singers Global Foundation, go here.