LLOYD CARR-HARRIS COMPOSITION COMPETITION
Congratulations to John Vooys!
Winner of the 2020
Lloyd Carr-Harris Composition Competition
John Vooys is an emerging Calgary-based composer, performer, and director. He was born on August 9, 1988 in Calgary, Alberta, graduated from the Alberta College of Art + Design in 2012, and from Ambrose Seminary in 2018 with a Master of Christian Studies.
John is the artistic director of Blend Vocal Ensemble and an ensemble director with Harmony through Harmony; he has been composing and arranging for these groups since 2014
We will be perfoming John's winning composition "Finale" in our 10th Anniversary celebration concert in our 2020/21 season.
In his own words:
I love walking, running, playing, dancing – even driving – outside at night. My favourite night-time songs and poems always had an element of mystery and restlessness – cool musical colours, odd harmonies, insistent rhythms. The words of Pauline Johnson’s “Finale” suggested this to me, and I wanted to highlight it as I set the text. In short, I’ve tried to write the sort of lullaby I would have liked to hear as a child – on a summer night, out walking instead of sleeping.
Several of the motifs in this song were inspired by Maurice Ravel’s “La Vallée des Cloches.” I wanted the piano accompaniment to sound delicate and percussive, like chimes and bells, to contrast with the lower voices of a men’s chorus.
If you would like us to email you when the 2021 Lloyd Carr-Harris Composition Competition is open, please provide your email address.