Canadian composer and conductor Stephanie Martin will present a forum on composing music, discussing how the three pieces she has previously composed for Christ Church Cathedral were all inspired by works of art: the stone sculpture of a bird, the baptistry, and the magnificent stained glass window in the Chapel of the New Jerusalem. Following the forum, Martin’s new commissioned anthem for Christ Church Cathedral will be presented at the service at 10.30 am. This new composition, an anthem, is a dedication to the entire building on its 90th anniversary. The piece was commissioned by the widow of David Barlow, a man who knew every stone of the building, but also loved history and art and wrote a book about the stain glass windows.
About Stephanie Martin is associate professor of music at York University’s School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design; director of Schola Magdalena (a women’s ensemble for medieval and modern polyphony,) conductor emeritus of Pax Christi Chorale; and past director of music at Saint Mary Magdalene in Toronto. Martin’s current project with librettist Paul Ciufo is Llandovery Castle, an opera about the Canadian hospital ship torpedoed in the Atlantic in June 1918. Website: https://www.stephaniemartinmusic.com/bio/