I was informed this week that I am the winner of the 2019 Gregg Smith Choral Composition Contest for my piece "Crossing the Bar." The contest is biennially sponsored by the Setnor School of Music at Syracuse University.
I wrote "Crossing the Bar" early this year as my first foray into writing for gendered choirs. Since my work as a choir director is almost exclusively working with treble and tenor-bass ensembles, it has been a goal of mine to eventually write for my choirs rather than exclusively writing for SATB.
I'm grateful to Peppie Calvar and the others on the review board who saw merit in "Crossing the Bar" and for offering to premiere the work in the beautiful Crouse College on April 22. The event will be live-streamed, so friends and family – make plans to tune in at 8:00!