Competition for Choral Writing ​

The Competition for Choral Writing includes two categories:

1. The Diane Loomer Award, sponsored by Cypress Choral Music – open to any emerging/early-career* Canadian choral composer.
2. The Stephen Chatman Student Award – open to any Canadian student or any student currently studying in Canada.

Winners and honourable mentions are chosen by a Selection Committee of esteemed choral artists from across the country. Representatives from the sponsoring organizations are not members of the Selection Committee and have no involvement in the specific allocation of awards.

Each submission will receive constructive written feedback from one of the members of the committee.

The Selection Committee may select up to three honourable mentions per category.

The recipient of the Diane Loomer Award receives a $1,500 cash prize, a publishing opportunity with Cypress Choral Music, and a performance by the National Youth Choir of Canada at the Podium Choral Conference & Festival. The recipient of the Stephen Chatman Student Award receives a $1,500 cash prize and a performance by a prominent choir in Canada.
 

*Emerging/early-career: A person who is in the early stages of their career as a music creator/composer. They self-identify as an emerging artist and are in the process of establishing their presence in the choral arts sector. An emerging artist has likely been practicing for less than 10 years, regardless of age or education.

2026 Competition Regulations + Application Guidelines
(Download TXT)

The Diane Loomer Award, sponsored by Cypress Choral Music, is open to any emerging/early-career* Canadian choral composer. The recipient will receive:

• the Diane Loomer Award of $1,500
• a publishing opportunity through Cypress Choral Music**
• a performance by the National Youth Choir of Canada, on tour and at the national Podium Choral Conference and Festival.
• a feature article about the composer in Choral Canada’s national choral journal Anacrusis 
• promotion on Choral Canada’s website and social media​​.

*Emerging/early-career: A person who is in the early stages of their career as a music creator/composer. They self-identify as an emerging artist and are in the process of establishing their presence in the choral arts sector. An emerging artist has likely been practicing for less than 10 years, regardless of age or education.

**Copyright in all submitted works remains with the composer. Winning the Diane Loomer Award does not, in itself, transfer or assign any copyright or publishing rights. While this award includes a publishing opportunity, any exclusive publishing agreement is entered into directly between the composer and the sponsoring publisher.
 

About the Diane Loomer Award:

This important Choral Canada program would not be possible without the generosity of the beloved late Diane Loomer. Internationally recognized as one of Canada’s finest musicians and the first woman to conduct the National Youth Choir of Canada, Diane and Dick Loomer founded Cypress Choral Music in 1988. In 1999, they partnered with Choral Canada to present the first edition of this competition. Today, Diane’s legacy in the Canadian choral community lives on through the Diane Loomer Award, sponsored by Cypress Choral Music.
 

Past recipients of the Diane Loomer Award:

​2000 - Allan Bevan - Ave Maria
2000 - Ramona Luengen - Mésange
2002 - Michael Unger - Sea Song 
2004 - Allan Bevan - Echo
2004 - Jeff Smallman - Brier
2006 - Allan Bevan - Harp of Wild
2008 - Brian Tate - Africa
2010 - Lavinia Parker - Songs are Thoughts
2010 - Donald Patriquin - Scottish Contrasts
2012 - Elise Letourneau - Peace Prayer
2014 - Matthew Emery - The Lover’s Chant 
2016 - Benjamin Bolden - Tread Softly 
2018 - Sheldon Rose - Will You Fare On, My Song?
2020 - Kevin Pirker - She Walks in Beauty 
2022 - Nicholas Kelly - Wind Rising in the Alleys
2024 - Katharine Petkovski - When Music Sounds

2026 Competition Regulations + Application Guidelines
(Download TXT)

The Stephen Chatman Student Award is open to any Canadian student or any student currently studying in Canada. The recipient will receive:

• the Stephen Chatman Student Award of $1,500
• a performance by a choir/singing group in Canada
• complimentary student membership with Choral Canada (valid for one year from the date of the award)
• a feature article about the composer in Choral Canada’s national choral journal Anacrusis
• promotion on Choral Canada’s website and social media

Past recipients of the Stephen Chatman Student Award:

2022 - Mari Alice Conrad - At First Light
2024 - François Lukawecki - En plein air

Nicholas Kelly

Composition: Wind Rising in the Alleys​ with text by Lola Ridge

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Commended by the Vancouver Sun for his "sophisticated work of such immediate, glittery appeal" and called "a rising star in the constellation of Canadian composers" by Oregon Arts Watch, Nicholas Ryan Kelly writes choral, wind ensemble, and chamber music infused with a sense of cinematic drama.

Since 2016, he has won nearly 20 national and international competitions for wind band and (mostly) choral writing, including the Edwin Fissinger Choral Composition Prize and the Howard Cable Prize from the Canadian Band Association. His music has been performed by most of Western Canada's top choirs, including the Vancouver Chamber Choir, Chor Leoni, Elektra Women's Choir, and Pro Coro Canada. His 2022 commissions include Chronos Vocal Ensemble, the Vancouver Men's Chorus, and the DaCapo Chamber Choir.

A graduate of the music composition programs at Ithaca College (New York) and the University of British Columbia, Nick lives in BC's beautiful Okanagan Valley, where he is involved in many small-town musical activities as a conductor and teacher.

A note from the jury:
A well-crafted choral work, Wind Rising in the Alleys, contains the perfect balance of rhythmic vitality, beautiful melodic line, and harmonic surprise. The piano accompaniment is substantial but never overwhelming and acts as a collaborative partner to the choir - a vocal extension of the SATB texture. The text is meaningful and filled with hopeful images that shares a timely message for our world.
 

Mari Alice Conrad

Composition: At First Light with text by Anna Marie Sewell

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Mari Alice Conrad is an emerging, award-winning composer near Edmonton, Alberta currently studying graduate work in music composition at the University of Alberta. She has composed works for ensembles and performers across Canada including Babɛl Choir (Toronto), Standing Wave Ensemble (Vancouver), Exultate Chamber Singers (Toronto), the Allegra Chamber Orchestra (Vancouver), the SHHH!! Ensemble (Ottawa), Edmonton Winds (Edmonton), Soprano Maghan McPhee and pianist Valerie Dueck (Ottawa), Allen Stiles (Vancouver), Pro Coro Canada (Edmonton), and has mentored young composers through the Tuckamore Widening the Circle Program (Newfoundland).                                                             

Recent performances of her works were featured at Ottawa Chamberfest, Vancouver’s Allegra Chamber Orchestra FestivELLE, Toronto’s East Chamber Festival, the Banff Centre for the Arts, and the New Music Edmonton Summer Solstice Festival. Mari Alice’s compositional practice shines an exceptional light on the human condition and fosters curiosity, authenticity, connection, and collaboration.  Her honest and intuitive compositional voice creates a compelling experience for both performers and audiences.

A note from the jury:
I was completely drawn to this music because of the text. How exciting for a young composer to collaborate with an established poet to create this choral piece. This composer uses word painting, dissonant harmonies, and aleatoric techniques to capture the attention of both the singer and the audience.
 

The jury would also like to give honourable mentions to Edward Enman for his submission to the Diane Loomer Award competition with his composition Where Light is Possible and Benjamin Sigerson for his submission to the Stephen Chatman Student Award competition with his composition What Gentle Stardust, Now Falling​.

A special thank you to our anonymous jury members for their time and expertise in reviewing the numerous submissions of the 2022 Competition for Choral Writing.

Katharine Petkovski

"When Music Sounds"
Recipient of the 2024 Diane Loomer Award

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Katharine Petkovski is a Canadian composer based in Toronto, Ontario. Featured on CBC’s list of “30 hot Canadian classical musicians under 30", her music has been performed by celebrated ensembles such as the Bedford Trio, Odin Quartet, Exultate Chamber Singers, and musica intima.

Awarded the NDSU Edwin Fissinger Choral Composition Prize in 2023 and selected as winner of the Bedford Trio Composition Competition, Katharine’s music spans multiple disciplines and genres. She holds a BMus in Composition from the University of Toronto ('19), and a MMus in Composition from the University of Toronto ('21), where she received the prestigious Tecumseh Sherman Rogers Graduating Award upon completion. 

Katharine has been mentored by esteemed composers and music leaders such as James Rolfe, Norbert Palej, and Elizabeth Raum. She is an active member of the Screen Composer’s Guild of Canada, the Association of Canadian Women Composers, and the Canadian League of Composers.

 

François Lukawecki

"En plein air"
Recipient of the 2024 Stephen Chatman Student Award

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François Lukawecki is a promising choral composer from Montreal, known for his innovative approach to music that seamlessly blends unconventional vocal techniques with impressionism and intricate word painting. His compositions evoke powerful imagery through meticulously crafted harmonies, prosody-generated rhythms, and unexpected uses of techniques such glissandi, repetition, and onomatopoeia.

Currently pursuing a Master’s in Choral Conducting at Université de Sherbrooke under the guidance of Dr. Robert Ingari, François’ composition Ma pensée won the 2023 Composition Competition at Sherbrooke University and was featured in Canticum Novum by the Choeur de Chambre du Québec.

In addition to his academic pursuits, François is a dedicated music teacher and serves as the artistic director of the Monday Night Choir, which specializes in Canadian contemporary music. He sings with the Choeur de Chambre du Québec and has previously performed with many choirs, including the Choeur St-Laurent and the Choeur de l'Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal.

The Selection Committee would also like to give honourable mentions to Xingzimin Pan ("PATH") and Bradley Barnham ("At That Hour") for their submissions to the Diane Loomer Award competition.

A special thank you to our anonymous Selection Committee members for their time and expertise in reviewing the numerous submissions of the 2024 Competition for Choral Writing.

Scott Reimer

"We Are Carried"
Recipient of the 2026 Diane Loomer Award

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Scott Reimer values the revitalizing power of communal singing and has invested much of his life to the pursuit of collaborative music-making. He grew up in a big family that sang together loudly and boisterously, and he has brought a joyful exuberance with him to each choir he has worked with over the years. Scott grew up near Gretna and has pursued choral engagement in Winnipeg and beyond since high school.

He is the associate conductor and a singer in Canzona and Polycoro, and he also sings in the Canadian Chamber Choir as well as Winnipeg’s premier male vocal quintet, Proximus 5. Scott has performed as a soloist with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, has represented Manitoba in the National Youth Choir of Canada, and has represented Canada in the World Youth Choir on four international tours, having served as tenor section lead in 2018. He completed a Masters degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Manitoba and now leads the choral program at Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institute in Winnipeg.

An avid choral composer and arranger, Scott has won several composition competitions and continually strives to program meaningful and diverse repertoire. Scott takes joy in building up and empowering young people to find their voice and a sense of belonging.
 

Minjoo Kim

"Gloria"
Recipient of the 2026 Stephen Chatman Student Award

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Minjoo Kim is a composer based in Toronto, who views her music as a "house" built upon her dual identity as a performer and creator. Her work focuses on the organic emergence of Korean sonorities that surface unconsciously within contemporary Western structures.

Recently, she was awarded the first prize in the 2025-2026 Guelph Chamber Choir competition for her composition “Before the Battle,” which was premiered by the GCC and the Orpheus choir. Her previous honours include the Martinu Composition Prize.

Kim's international debut was held in February 2020 in New York City, where she was commissioned by the Mannes Sounds Festival to premiere her solo piano piece. Minjoo holds a Master of Music and a Professional Studies Diploma from Mannes School of Music, where she studied under David T. Little, and is currently a Doctor of Musical Arts candidate in Composition at the University of Toronto under Norbert Palej. In addition to her composition residency, she teaches Music Skills III at the University of Toronto.

The Selection Committee would also like to give honourable mentions to Rebecca Gray ("Rambling") and François Lukawecki ("Cosmic Fireflies") for their submissions to the Diane Loomer Award, and Aaron Manswell ("One Thing At a Time") and Xiangmin Yan ("Ru Meng Ling") for their submissions to the Stephen Chatman Student Award.

A special thank you to our anonymous Selection Committee members for their time and expertise in reviewing the numerous submissions of the 2026 Competition for Choral Writing.