Chosen Family

We concluded the Chronos season with recording sessions! 

The support of our donors and funders has allowed us to capture the choir at the end of this Tenth Anniversary season, gathering the material for a studio recording of Stuart Beatch’s Chosen Family. 

The commission, preparation, and performance of Chosen Family was a significant highlight of the season. As composer-in-residence for Chronos’s 10th anniversary, Stuart adapted four poems from the book “Lost Family” by Canadian poet John Barton, in a narrative of coping with loss through the support of chosen families.

The finished piece – four movements, 21 minutes in duration, written for unaccompanied SATB choir – was premiered in January 2024, at the choir’s 10th anniversary concert.

We were pleased to welcome poet John Barton to our premiere performance, and the audience reaction was highly positive. John was deeply touched by the collaboration, writing:

“I’m still very moved by your settings of my poems—you brought out nuances and tonalities buried deep in the words. […] I’m so glad I was in Edmonton for the performance; from the moment you approached me, I knew I would attend. Both my sister and I felt our father, who sang in choirs and choruses all his life, would have been so proud had he lived to be there himself.”

Since the premiere performance, interest from the choral and music community has led to new opportunities for the choir and composer. To date, Chronos has had the opportunity to perform music from Chosen Family, on 7 occasions! (see below)

A first performance of Chosen Family outside Alberta has already taken place; the BC Premiere of Chosen Family was presented in Victoria on June 1 by Capriccio Vocal Ensemble and conductor Adam Con, with the composer in attendance.

This performance was also attended by Alisa Gordaneer (daughter of James Gordaneer) and Derk Wynand (widower of Eva Wynand); James Gordaneer and the Wynands are the subjects of the movements within the larger work. Both Alisa and Derk were deeply moved by the performance, and remarked to Stuart how much their loved ones would have appreciated this music.

We expect future performances of this moving work by other choirs in Canada and beyond, following enthusiastic responses at the recent Podium Choral Conference in Montreal. 

Our deep appreciation goes to both the Edmonton Community Foundation, and the SOCAN Foundation, for support of this commission project.

—-