Cantus Commission Competition

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.

Isaac Lovdahl is an award-winning composer, conductor, educator, and bass-baritone vocalist who serves as Assistant Professor of Music and Interim Director of Choral Activities at Bemidji State University. His music has been described as “a revelation” and “remarkable” (The American Prize), and is increasingly gaining traction throughout the choral music world.

When my father said he was leaving,
I ran with my sister to the brook
behind our grandparents’ house.

We held each other as we wept,
innocence spilling from our tiny eyes.

She went back before me
to be with our mother.
I stayed a while longer and sat
in the silence of my final childish moments.

Who would teach me to be strong?
Who would share their wisdom?
Who would pick me up when I fall down?

I will build my own refuge.
I will seek my own teachers.
I will be my own hero.

I will be the man that I needed
when I was just a boy.

— Isaac Lovedahl

Mr. Madera is a choral composer and director based in Nebraska. Originally born in Jalisco, Mexico, Mr. Madera aims to provide a bridge between cultures by implementing musical elements and styles influenced by a diverse choral background. As a clinician, he is an avid advocate for change and the diversification of the choral canon. He serves as director of the vocal ensembles at Adams Central Public Schools in Hastings, Nebraska, the Minden Opera House, and the Minden City Singers.

Amo el canto del cenzontle,
pájaro de cuatrocientas voces.
Amo el color del jade
y el enervante perfume de las flores,
pero más amo a mi hermano, el hombre.

In Centzontototl

Nehuatl nictlazotla in centzontototl icuicauh,
nehuatl nictlazotla in chalchihuitl Itlapaliz
ihuan in ahuiacmeh xochimeh;
zan oc cenca noicniuhtzin in tlacatl,
Nehuatl nictlazotla

The Mockingbird

I love the singing of the mockingbird,
bird of four thousand voices.
I love the jade-green color
and the fading fragrance of flowers;
but even more I love my brother, Man.

— Anonymous

“El Cenzontle,” reflects on “the beauty of the world through the eyes of a Mexican native prior to colonization. According to Mexican folklore, ‘el cenzontle’ used to be a beautiful woman who suffered at the hands of merchants and that, when she died, turned into the mockingbird: a bird whose beautiful cries request compassion for the human kind. There is something beautiful about finding the sacred in the secular. To me, El Cenzontle represents the natural order of this world: an order based on love.” — Hugo Madera

Jennifer Lucy Cook is a composer and lyricist based in Los Angeles. Jen specializes in musical comedy for the stage and screen, progressive choral music, and pop songwriting. Recent choral commissions include Cantorum Chamber Choir, Voces Ad Opus, and the UVU Chamber Choir. She is the recipient of the 2022 Chorus Austin Composition prize. Her theater commissions include Full House Theatre Co., British Youth Musical Theatre, and the Globe Theatre in London, and her musical recaps of the Bachelor recently went viral on TikTok. She earned a Master’s degree in Musical Theater Writing from Goldsmiths University in London and a Bachelor’s in Contemporary Music from Brigham Young University. Jen is mentored by renowned composer Eric Whitacre.

Time, you can spend it, when you spend it then you’re running out of
Time, you can save it, but to save it is to take a little
TIme, in a minute, when you’re in it, can you feel the passing
Time is an illusion, there’s confusion when they tell you now it’s
Time to get older, time to work and time to waste and there’s no
Time left to hold her, time to tell him how you feel while there’s still
Time, three two one eleven thirty, two AM, then dinner
Time now to kill, I said I will and still it flies and flies, oh
Time

Time, you can spend when you spend you’re running out of
Time, you can save but to save it takes some
Time, in a minute, you’re in it, feel passing
Time is an illusion, confusion they tell you now it’s
Time to get older, to work, time to waste, there’s no
Time left to hold time to tell him while there’s still
Time, three two eleven two AM, dinner
Time now to kill, said I will still it flies oh
Time

Time you can when you you’re running out of
save it take a little
Time, minute, can you feel passing
is an illusion, they tell you
to get older, work, waste, there’s no
hold her, tell him feel there’s
Time, one, thirty, dinner
Time, kill will still fly oh

Time, you can spend it, when you spend it then you’re running out of
TIme, you can spend it when you spend it then you’re running out of
Time, in a minute, when you’re in it, can you feel the passing
Time

They say
Time to get older, time to work and time to waste and there’s no
Time left to hold her, time to tell him how you feel while there’s still
Time, three two one, eleve thirty, two AM, then dinner
Time now to kill, I said I will and still it flies and flies, oh fly fly fly on
Time

One of my favorite parts of being both a composer and a lyricist is the full permission to twist lyrics as much as I like, because the only person to answer to is myself! “Time” allowed me to do exactly that. My goal was to convey the feeling of condensing time by removing lyrics upon each repetition, thereby changing the meaning in some profound as well as ridiculous ways. — Jennifer Lucy Cook

Scott Senko is a composer and singer based in Minneapolis. He completed undergraduate studies at Luther College in 2015, where he studied composition with Brooke Joyce and Steve Smith, and voice with Andrew Whitfield.

He served as Composer-in-Residence with Magnum Chorum during the 2016-17 season. In 2019, he received commissions through The Esoterics POLYPHONOS competition and the Young New Yorkers’ Chorus Competition for Young Composers, for which his “When I rise above the earth” won first prize.

As a tenor, Scott has sung with a number of vocal ensembles in the Twin Cities. Currently, he sings with The Singers – Minnesota Choral Artists, MPLS (imPluse), and the parish choir at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church where he serves as tenor section leader.

Scott’s piece, “grip,” draws on poetry by Chicago-based poet Levi Todd. Scott writes that “when I read ‘grip (v.),’ which describes the mind games people (particularly men) play with themselves and each other when shaking hands with a stranger, I felt the urge to look over my shoulder. It was that rare occurrence wherein a piece of art seems to not merely speak to you, but almost for (or even as) you. I knew immediately that ‘grip’ needed to be a piece for TB choir.”

Carlos Lalonde is a rising composer from the Chicago suburbs. He primarily writes wind ensemble and orchestral music and is skilled in writing chamber and choral works.

He also has received an honorable mention this past year from the Illinois Music Educators Association (ILMEA) for their large ensemble category in their annual composition competition held each January. More notably, his orchestral work entitled A Seafarer’s Fanfare, won the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies’ (GTCYS) 2019-20 Call For Scores Competition this year with the premiere performance to be played at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, MN. Most recently, His brass quartet piece, Regrets, was recently selected as the runner-up award for the 2020 Diversity Initiative’s Call For Scores.

I lie awake consumed by fear.
Hold on tight, a shining light.
Awake for morning comes.
But I cannot sleep.
I’m caught by the tide,
No one by my side.
But I miss the days when life stood still.
A fleeting shadow, endless thrill.
I tried to hide the feelings welled inside.
Somehow, I know I’ll live,
I’ll live!
For morning comes.

— text by composer

Carlos’ piece, For Morning Comes, explores the stress and anguish that was sprouted from the COVID-19 pandemic. He spoke about his experience saying “as a high school senior, all events including in-person classes, prom, band concerts, graduation, and my own composition premieres [had] been canceled. Without having said my last goodbyes to my friends and school faculty, a great portion of my life was mercilessly lost due to factors beyond my control. In an attempt to gain some closure, this piece represents the light at the end of the tunnel, For Morning Comes.”

Grace Brigham is a composer specializing in choral and vocal music. She currently studies with Justin Merritt at St. Olaf College, where she also plays the violin and sings in various ensembles. In addition, she sang for five years with the Washington National Cathedral Choir, having the opportunity to perform for the likes of Joe Biden and Barack Obama. The Cathedral Choristers, as well as many ensembles at St. Olaf, are currently performing her music. After college, she plans to attend graduate school for choral composition.

“The way of progress was never swift nor easy” – Marie Curie

“Very little can be done under the spirit of fear”
“We dream ‘til we no longer have the strength to dream those dreams against which we so struggle, those dreams go at last” – Florence Nightingale

“Prejudice is more violent the blinder it is” – Elizabeth Blackwell

“Fearfully, cautiously, and distrustingly must we take many of our steps, for we see a little way at best, and we can foresee nothing at all” – Maria Mitchell

“But our best and wisest refuge from our troubles is in our science” – Ada Lovelace

“We have a hunger of the mind. The more we gain, the more is our desire” – Maria Mitchell

“Let each defeat be a source of a new endeavor, and each victory the strengthening of our spirit” – Euphemia Haynes

“The breath of a nation’s progress” – Maria Mitchell

“We still need more progress.” – Grace Brigham

Marie Curie (1867-1934) was a French/Polish chemist and physicist; she was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, which she won twice in two different sciences. She studied radioactivity extensively and discovered the elements polonium and radium.

Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) is known as the pioneer of modern nursing. She trained nurses and treated wounded soldiers during the Crimean War, and later founded a nursing school in London. She was also a writer and social activist, advocating for (among other things) women’s rights and healthcare improvement.

Elizabeth Blackwell (1821-1910) was the first female medical doctor in the U.S., and the only medical school that accepted her did so because the male students there voted to let her in. She went on to give lectures advocating for female education, founded a hospital with her sister, and aided in organizing nurses during The Civil War.

Maria Mitchell (1818-1889) was the first professional American female astronomer. She discovered a comet in 1847, which she later received a gold medal for. After learning that she was paid significantly less than her male colleagues while working as a professor at Vassar, she demanded a salary increase and her superiors gave it to her.

Ada Lovelace (1815-1852), daughter of Lord and Lady Byron, was a British writer and computer programmer. She created the first algorithm to be carried out by Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine, a proposed mechanical computer. She is recognized as the first to realize the full potential of computers.

Euphemia Haynes (1890-1980) was the first African-American woman to earn a PhD in math. She spent 47 years teaching in D.C. public schools and became the first female chair of the D.C. Board of Education. She was also granted the Papal decoration of honor by Pope John XXIII.

Gerson Batista (1988) is a composer, illustrator, multi-instrumentalist, poet and writer from Aveiro, Portugal. His piece, Playing with the Universe was the runner-up of our Young & Emerging Composer Competition and sets the scene as the opening song of our fall show, One Giant Leap! It takes listeners and performers on an epic journey through our zeitgeist using original text and complex rhythms and harmonies.

Batista began focusing on composition in 2016 and has won numerous awards in that short time, including 1st Prizes in competitions for Município da Lousada, INATEL–Associação FOLEFEST, Peças Frescas Açores, the National Arts Competition, and the Walter Hussey Composition Competition among others.

Here we are
Living the now

Mirrors all over
sparkling in between the blocks
along the long trails of people
the stream of humans
the chain of thoughts
the divine string played by the mob
is moving forward,
towards the sky

Cars, planes,
signs, trains,
bikes and more
wandering around the stream
pulling back the floor,
oh rugged crowd
bread for the soul
the universe is loud,
let’s play its song!

Techniques, methods,
progress, skills,
systems and more
playing with the universe
opening up doors
Oh Cosmos
here we roam
the universe is loud,
let’s sing its song!

At the first
emanation from Nature
in me
I felt the breeze,
it was you,
Mother Earth
the deep peace,
whispering in the ears
of those who know you

–– GERSON BATISTA