Ruth Watson Henderson Choral Composition Competition, 2011 Winner Announced

The Ruth Watson Henderson Choral Composition Competition is a contest for new choral works. This biennial competition alternates between pieces for treble voice choirs and for mixed choirs. The 2011 competition asked for an SA or SSA work for children’s choir, which could be either a cappella or accompanied by piano. The eligible composers must be Canadian citizens or landed immigrants, residing in Canada; their submissions must be original; they must not have been previously commissioned or published, and must have been composed within the last two years.

The winner of the 2011 competition is Elise Letourneau with Ave Maria, for SA and piano.
Elise Letourneau is a performer, composer, arranger, and educator. She is the founding music director of Capital Vox Jazz Choir, and directs Vox Eclectica, a women’s chamber choir.  Elise is a member of the music performance faculty at Carleton University, teaching jazz and contemporary styles of voice, piano, and musicianship.
                       
The Toronto Children’s Chorus, under their director Elise Bradley, will perform the winning work at their concert at the George Weston Recital Hall, Toronto Centre for the Arts, Toronto, on May 5th, 2012.

Ruth Watson Henderson, one of Canada’s foremost musicians known for her work as a composer and pianist, is very pleased to encourage the contribution to Canadian choral music that her competition provides. She appreciates the work of Choirs Ontario, who administers this program.