New Commission for 2017 Montréal Organ Festival
I am excited to announce a new commission to write a concert organ work for the 2017 Montréal Organ Festival, to be premiered by American organist and educator Christian Lane. The festival, which is a collaboration between the Royal Canadian College of Organists (RCCO) and the Northeast Chapter of the American Guild of Organists (AGO), will feature performances and workshops throughout the city showcasing many of Canada’s finest instruments. The new work will premiere at Montreal’s Maison Symphonique, a state of the art concert hall that is home to a Casavant Frères organ inaugurated in 2014. The 83 stop, 116 rank instrument offers an enormous range of exciting color possibilities.
I’ll be heading up to Montréal with the organist in early August to get an introduction to the instrument. It is a great pleasure to work collaboratively with this fine musician, and Chris is proving to be a great help in the development of the new piece—I couldn’t have asked for more. I’ll post again in the coming months to document the progress on this commission.