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Toronto music

Composer-in-residence, TMChoir 2025-26

This season I’m delighted to be serving the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir as their composer-in-residence. Several people have asked me: ‘Just exactly what does this mean? Do you live at Koerner Hall? Is it a full-time job? Do you sing in the choir?’ Fortunately, I don’t have to live in the basement of the concert hall, nor is this a full-time job, and I don’t know that I’d pass the gruelling audition for TMChoir! My actual role is to compose three new pieces for this season, to head a mentorship program for composers, and to present a lecture. I am privileged… Read More »Composer-in-residence, TMChoir 2025-26

Ave Verum Corpus: a silver lining story

This is the true story of a little piece of music called ‘Ave Verum Corpus’. If you are a fan of choral music, you’ll probably be familiar with the text ‘Ave Verum Corpus’. If you sing in a choir, you might have performed settings by Mozart, William Byrd, or Elgar.  ‘Ave Verum Corpus’ was the first piece that I wrote for the Gallery Choir of the Church of Saint Mary Magdalene back in March 2007, and it’s a classic tale of ‘a cloud with a silver lining’. On a dark Thursday night, one of those monstrous March snowstorms descended on… Read More »Ave Verum Corpus: a silver lining story

Steph at black board

Ma fin est mon commencement

Today I am starting something new. I’m launching this new website! With the help of expert web designer Mary Bella the new site launches with current photos (of my mature self) , a refreshed blog where you can read and leave your own thoughts and comments, a complete catalogue of compositions with links to publishers, and a gallery of videos, recordings and photographs. You can check out Mary’s company Maestra Web Design on her website. I can highly recommend her work. She is thoroughly skilled in web design, and she’s also very patient with someone who is just learning :… Read More »Ma fin est mon commencement

Earth Day 2020

Today is the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day back in 1970. We had big plans to mark the anniversary with concerts and events worldwide. Schola Magdalena was particularly looking forward to sharing an Earth Day concert this evening, with music from ancient times to modern day – from Gregorian chant, Hildegard von Bingen, and Elizabeth Poston, to songs from Iceland & Norway in their original languages, and a very special new composition written especially for Schola Magdalena by Toronto composer Colin Eatock. Colin’s new piece, on a text by Hildegard von Bingen, is written in 6 parts, and… Read More »Earth Day 2020

Birmingham Town Hall

Elijah and bicycles?

Wrapping up my final year with Pax Christi Chorale is a profound, bitter-sweet pleasure. Things will get rolling on the first weekend of November with Mendelssohn’s dramatic oratorio Elijah. I have adored this piece since I learned it in 1977, at 15 years of age, one of the younger singers in Waterloo region’s Mennonite Mass Choir, conducted by my Dad. I really could not believe that as a choral singer, you could throw yourself into the role of a Baal worshipper, and sing really nasty things. It was delightfully naughty and the big sound of about 230 voices with full… Read More »Elijah and bicycles?

Lunch with Mayor Ford

Taking aim at Rob Ford tonight seems like shooting fish in a barrel. As I write, he is being abandoned in Shakespearean proportions, not only by those who never liked him, but also by his closest supporters. My own tragic liaison with our ill-fated Mayor was early in his leadership when I was invited to the Mayor’s “Arts Awards” lunch. I was really excited to attend this event. We shaggy, ill-kempt artsy types were seated at round tables with spiffy business people, with whom we could hobnob and cook up meaningful partnerships. I thought it was truly a stroke of… Read More »Lunch with Mayor Ford

Edwardian Opulence

After Pax Christi Chorale’s mammoth performances of Handel’s SOLOMON, final juries and exams at York University, I thought I needed a little break. I stepped back from the routine of rehearsal, teaching, writing and performing to recharge my musical batteries. I spent four days with the Elgar Society, North American branch, at our annual conference in New Haven, Connecticut. That might seem like a potentially somber gathering, but it was an absolutely fabulous event. One of the best things about attending a musical conference is that you get to meet a whole lot of great people from far flung places… Read More »Edwardian Opulence