Choral Composition Competition
After being much postponed because of the Coronavirus restrictions, this concert finally took place on Saturday 18th September 2021 at St Paul’s Church, Grove Park, in front of a limited invited audience.
Many thanks to all the composers who sent in entries.
Robin Johnson Composition Prize
‘On the Water’
Our 2021 Choral Composition Competition was funded by a legacy from Robin Johnson, who was a long standing member of Chiswick Choir. Throughout his life, Robin had many connections with the sea, sailing and the river Thames, so the chosen theme was ‘On the Water’.
The competition brief was for a choral piece lasting between four and five minutes, for mixed choir accompanied by piano or organ. Composers could choose their own text, which may be sacred or secular in content.
We received over 150 entries, from which a shortlist of five competition pieces was drawn up for the choir to work on and to perform in the concert, along with some other suitably ‘watery’ pieces. The concert was conducted by our Musical Director Hilary Campbell and accompanied by Ben Lewis-Smith. There was a 1st prize of £1,000 and a 2nd prize of £500, and we were delighted to have Cecilia McDowall and Stephen Jackson as our adjudicators.