Winner of the 2022 Composition Competition – Stuart Beatch

Those of you who have followed i Coristi over the years will know that the choir has run a Competition in Choral Composition for several years, which has given us the opportunity to bring you new works from several Canadian composers. From our 2022 competition, we are happy to announce that we are commissioning a new piece next season from Edmonton composer Stuart Beatch.

Notably, in 2022 we reimagined this program from the ground up. We no longer ask composers to submit a piece written on speculation, essentially asking them to work for free; now we ask them to submit a proposal for a piece they'd like to write for us, along with some examples of existing work. We no longer pay an honorarium that works out to be less than standard commissioning fees; now we enter into a proper commissioning arrangement at Canadian League of Composers rates. We've also eliminated application fees and other barriers to entry.
This year we received 11 proposals from composers across Canada, with entries that showed the incredible depth of talent across this country, and with jaw-dropping creativity. It was an extremely difficult process to narrow the field down to one winning proposal. The selection committee fell in love with the sample works Stuart provided and with his vision for a new commission, and we know that this new piece will be one that the choir will really enjoy singing and that our audience will love listening to as well. We will premier this new work at the first concert of the 2023-2024 season, and you can watch our website and social media for more details about the piece.