The Good Shepherd
commission consortium
- Sacred Cantata in 6 movements for Chorus, 2 Male Soloists (Tenor and Baritone), and Organ by Douglas Pew.
- Cantata can be used in worship settings—Eucharist, Evensong, or Vespers—or for concert performance.
- The work is meant as a whole but several of the movements can be very useful as individual anthems (i.e. Nos. 1, 3, and 6, see below).
- Duration: ca 25 minutes.
- 4-part choral writing with little to no divisi, suitable for the average Parish Choir.
- Texts selected from the Holy Scriptures and the Hymns of Phyllis Wocher and Douglas Pew.
- Score delivered by December 31, 2015.
- Cost: $1,000 minimum per participating choir.
- Donations from interested persons who wish to support this project are welcome.
- To participate, click one of the buttons above.
Description from the composer
Participating in a consortium commission is a wonderful and affordable way to experience the joy and excitement of new music. The principal ensemble for The Good Shepherd cantata is the Parish Choir at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Cincinnati, OH where I am composer-in-residence. Our Parish Choir is scheduled to premiere this work on Good Shepherd Sunday, April 17, 2016. We at St. Thomas are committed to the performance and creation of new sacred works at the highest level of human expression, works that "make divine things human and human things divine." (Music in the Castle of Heaven, John Eliot Gardiner)
To buy a new piece of choral music for 50 voices, one should budget to spend $100 (around $2 per copy). Buying copies of a cantata can be anywhere between $10 to $50 per copy. For the $1,000 minimum commission amount to participate in this consortium, each choir receives the license to make as many copies of the music as is required for their ensemble. Each choir will have the license to the regional premiere of the work in whichever location they reside and may use the work as their calendars permit, whether before or after the premiere at St. Thomas in Cincinnati, OH. Additionally, each ensemble will have their name written in the score for all future performers to see. The full cost of the consortium goes to support the creation of this new work.
Individual donors to this project will also have their names listed in the score and all program materials, if they so choose.
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About the Composer
"Genius...pure magic!" — DC Metro Theater Arts
"More than merely evocative!" — Washington Post
"Doug went to the root of the emotional world of the opera and wrote music that illuminated the characters and situation with a showman's touch and poet's soul. He let it take flight." — Jake Heggie, composer (Moby Dick)
"Mr. Pew's score—marabile dictu—soars into a beautiful, Romantic vocal triptych." — Washington Times