“Creation of art will often carry us to worlds that never were. Without it, we go nowhere”. Carl Sagan

 

Kathleen Allan with students, courtesy of Kellie Walshs

 

Edge Island Festival for Composers and Choirs is a community project that encourages and enhances the powerful impact that choral singing can have on individuals and communities. Partnering with Memorial University and community choirs, Edge Island Festival promotes growth and excellence in choral music.

For 2014, Lady Cove Women’s Choir, Newman Sound Men’s Choir, Shallaway Youth Choir and Innismara Vocal Ensemble developed an existing model into a four-days festival where celebrated Canadian composers travelled to Newfoundland and Labrador to write new compositions for, and to work with, their respective choirs.

The guest composers for 2014 were Stephen Chatman (Juno winner, and head of composition at the University of British Columbia), Kathleen Allen (Canadian composer, Master of Music from Yale University, assistant conductor of the Yale Glee Club), and Jason Noble (Canadian composer and postdoctoral researcher at McGuill University).

The expansion of this Festival was made possible by the invaluable financial support of the Bruneau Centre for Excellence in Choral Music.