Calgary’s professional chamber choir Luminous Voices announces with great excitement the release of their newest CD Sea Dreams.
Sea Dreams features the work of the same title by Canadian composer Peter-Anthony Togni. Sea Dreams is written for double mixed choirs and two flutes and will feature two top Canadian flutists Sara Hahn-Scinocco and Sarah MacDonald. The piece was commissioned by Luminous Voices and Sara Hahn-Scinocco with the support from the Canada Council for the Arts and Paul and Elwyn Brown, and was premiered on February 25, 2018 at the Bella Concert Hall, Taylor Centre for the Performing Arts, Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta.
“Sea Dreams is a work that reflects my relationship to the ocean and my thoughts about a journey of faith, a journey full of questions, fears, longings, hopes, dreams, and the gifts of disappointment,” says Halifax-based composer Peter-Anthony Togni. “Each choir represents a ship on the water. Getting into a boat or on a ship is a kind of leap of faith: we can only pray and trust that the journey will be successful.”
“We have forged a strong artistic bond with Peter-Anthony Togni over the past 5 years,” says Timothy Shantz, Luminous Voices’ Artistic Director. “There is something very luminous about his music, reflecting inwards and outwards. Togni exploits sonorities and colours that we really enjoy producing. The compilation of works on this recording represent a variety of styles and periods of his music and celebrates his 60th year.”
Sea Dreams also includes other works by Togni, including Totus Tuus, Requiem et Lux, Earth Voices, Psaume 98, and more. Guest artists include bass clarinetist Jeff Reilly, soprano Katie Partridge, and tenor Oliver Munar.
Luminous Voices, founded in 2012 by conductor and Artistic Director Timothy Shantz, continues to thrill audiences in Calgary and beyond through performances, recordings, and workshops. The choir has released two recordings, The Far West (2016) and Mendelssohn’s Te Deum (2015). Of The Far West, Joshua Kosman of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote “beautifully sung, as everything here is, by the aptly named Luminous Voices under Timothy Shantz.” The Far West was awarded the 2018 Choral Canada Award for Outstanding Choral Recording. The ensemble’s first recording, Mendelssohn’s Te Deum, was awarded the same recognition in 2016. Luminous Voices illuminates exceptional choral music of the past and present while supporting contemporary composers by commissioning new works. The ensemble’s vision is to encourage the advancement of choral art by providing a forum for collaboration among local and international artists in the development and presentation of choral music, as well as musical education programs.
For more information, visit www.luminousvoices.com, Facebook (LuminousVoices), Twitter (@LuminousVoices), or Instagram (@luminous_voices).
