vaneramos | Mark Sirett

Last spring I mentioned that Rainbow Chorus of Waterloo-Wellington was commissioning an original piece of choral music to perform at Unison Festival in Winnipeg in May. They offered as text one of my poems, "Starlight", which friends only can read here.

I found out in August who the composer would be, but had to keep it under wraps. Now it is safe now to say the commission went to Mark Sirett. Performances of his works are easily found on Youtube, but the best audio I could find was his arrangement of Carrickfergus performed by Primus Amabile Men's Ensemble. His setting of "Starlight" will be soprano-alto-tenor-bass with piano accompaniment (the text will be slightly revised).

Mark told the commissioning committee from the outset that he wished to publish the work. Yesterday he emailed me to say he is doing the final edit, that it will be ready in a week, and could I please email formal permission for him to use the text when he sends it to publishers. He also mentioned any royalties would be shared between us. I was not expecting that.

Is it also safe to say I am excited?

By the way, RCWW will hold its 15th anniversary concert on Jan. 23 including 19 of our favourite pieces from the past 10 years. Among them is my choral arrangement of Rufus Wainwright's Pretty Things. If you missed the performance in May 2008, now is your chance.