Cantus Commission Competition Winners Announced!

This March as part of our Deep River concert series, audiences will get to hear the premiere of a commissioned piece by our most recent winner of the 2025-26 Cantus Commission Competition, Simon Pearson. Simon is a Welsh composer based in London who composes music for a variety of ensembles and applications including film, theatre, live music and dance. Chris Foss, Cantus’ composer-in-residence, shared about the selection process, “We had so many amazing submissions to the program, it was very difficult to choose.  Simon’s music stood out not only because of his beautiful and approachable compositional style, but the raw and earnest nature of the texts he had prepared for his pieces.”

As the winner of the competition, Simon has spent the past year collaborating with Cantus to be mentored and to write a bespoke piece for a Cantus concert. Simon noted, “In my first call with Chris we explored themes from upcoming Cantus concert programs. Immediately the idea of musical lineage jumped out at me as rich and ripe for exploring. I’ve often mused on how our musical tastes form and this piece really unashamedly reaches into the memories and reflections I have on my own musical upbringing. I hope the piece will spark others to reflect, and reminisce on, similar experiences of the musical influencers from their own childhood as they listen.” 

When asked how his process for this project compares to his past work, Simon said “My process varies a lot between commissions as I write for a number of different musical applications. In my work for film and animation there’s often an intense and ongoing dialogue between the filmmaking team, often until late in the process, to ensure that the music is serving the emotional intent of the visuals. This can even involve creating playlists of inspiration. For concert pieces writing to brief, the process can be a lot more nerve-racking as there is often perhaps only a fleeting chance to try out sketches before committing the final work to paper. It’s been a real privilege to have an experienced mentor from Cantus to help guide and shape a piece of music as it takes shape, and to give detailed notes and reflections from the group at try-out rehearsals too.”

In speaking to his experience working with the competition winner, Chris lauded what Simon brings to the table. “In a voice as fantastic and developed as Simon’s, there’s truly not much that I could offer in regard to compositional techniques. So far we’ve mostly spoken on the differences between Cantus and other choral ensembles.  The differences can be subtle, but most choral ensembles have more than 8 voices, most low-voice ensembles have different rules for range, tessitura, etc. Writing for the virtuosity of our singers is both a luxury and a challenge and it was great to work with Simon on honing his compositional voice for the Cantus pallette.”

Working hand-in-hand with Cantus through the process has allowed Simon to tailor the work even in the finest details. “Although I’ve arranged many existing pieces for lower voices before, this is my first time composing an original piece for this kind of ensemble. It’s been a real opportunity to really get into the detail of how to create parts that are interesting for everyone to sing while conveying the intensity of the emotion in the work.”

As to the highlights of the process, Simon conveyed his appreciation for the one-on-one interaction he’s had with Chris in preparing his piece to premiere this coming season. “Working with Chris has been wonderful – he has been generous with his time, incredibly thoughtful and constructive in collating and sharing feedback from the group and helping explore ideas together. The process has felt very collaborative. I can’t wait for you to hear the final piece!”

Mark your calendars and join us for our Deep River concert series March 15-22, 2026 to hear the fruits of Simon, Chris, and Cantus’ collaboration!

With the Cantus Commission Competition now moving to a biennial program, we’d also like to introduce our winner for the 2026-27 season, JD Daniel!

JD Daniel (he/they) is a composer, bass-baritone, and writer based in Kansas City, MO. A queer, neurodivergent Indian-American and humanist, their music and writing touch on various aspects of existentialism and human flourishing—secular and mystical, community and individuality, pain and healing, and human connection and transformation. Their vocal music has been performed and recorded by groups such as the Erato Ensemble (Vancouver, BC), who commissioned and premiered the chamber arrangement of their art song universe is trying to tell me something but it’s mute in 2019; Cardinalis (Liberty, MO), who premiered their May I Be At Ease for choir and mezzo-soprano soloist in 2022; and Vox Venti (Chicago, IL), who commissioned and premiered their if you blow on embers for choir in 2023 and every child for choir, tenor soloist, and cello in 2025—both with their original poetry. In 2022, they were Co-Composer-in-Residence of KC VITAs (Kansas City, MO), culminating in premieres of their Certainty for choir and piano; it is sweet for choir, bass soloist, and string quartet; and Old Giants and Round Devices for tenor-bass choir and cello.

JD holds a BA in Oxbridge Music and Philosophy from William Jewell College (’19) with his third year (2017-2018) at the University of Oxford (U.K.). He has been mentored by Ian David Coleman, Jocelyn Hagen, Timothy Takach, Rodney Sharman, and Anthony J. Maglione. He has aspirations of expanding into non-classical and experimental singing, electronic production, and DJing. He is available as a composer-poet for commissions, collaborations, and residencies.