A key component of our work at Friends of the Vox is to commission choral composers and provide a platform for their music. Discover our recent commissions here.
Our Commissions
Meet-Cute
Composed by Cecilia McDowall • Text by Tony Silvestri
In May 2022, composer Cecilia McDowall was announced as Patron for our very own Vox Anima Chamber Choir, and we were delighted to honour our partnership with her further by commissioning this piece for upper voices. Meet-Cute was recorded by Vox Anima Chamber Choir at the VOCES8 Centre in London on May 3rd 2025, and premiered at St Dunstan’s Church, Cranbrook, on May 17th 2025. This commission has been made possible by the generosity of one of our Sponsors - Peter Boulton.
Meet-Cute features original text by the American poet and lyricist Charles Anthony Silvestri, and tells of a charming first encounter between two people who go on to fall in love and spend their lives together. Chatting to Helen, one of the Choir’s second altos, Cecilia talked about her choice of style, conversation with Tony Silvestri, and their joint aspirations to “add a bit of Sondheim”!
Alleluia
Third Prize winner of Emerging Composers 2024 Composed by Christopher Ryan Roncales
Awarded third-place in our Emerging Composers Call for Scores 2024, Alleluia evokes the dramatic and humbling event of a tropical storm, witnessed by composer Christopher Ryan Roncales in the Philippines where he currently lives and works. When submitting his composition, he wrote: "To calm and dispel fear, I wrote a song with the sole lyrics being Alleluia. You'll notice in this composition that at first, it's just calm, but in the subsequent parts, the tempo increases, and the singers exchange lines, indicating that the storm and wind are growing stronger. In the middle, there is the "Lento" part because there were reports on television about people dying and missing; this serves as a prayer for those affected, and those who lost loved ones. The storm intensified again, and on the final day, it calmed down, just as written in the piece."
Alleluia was recorded at the VOCES8 Centre on May 3rd 2025 by Vox Anima Chamber Choir, conducted by James Meaders. The World Premiere performance took place on May 17th 2025 at St. Dunstan’s Church, Cranbrook.
Song of the Oak
Second Prize winner of Emerging Composers 2024 Composed by Molly Ijames
Michigan-born Molly Ijames was inspired to write this piece after discovering the poem “The Brave Old Oak” by Henry Fothergill Chorley. She writes: "This poem personifies the life of an old oak tree, chronicling the pictures of human history that happened under its watch. When I came across the original version, I was endeared to the old oak and sought to help paint its beautiful biography. With some poetic modification, personal artistic investment, and an additional stanza, here is its story."
Submitted to our Emerging Composers Call for Scores 2024, Song of the Oak was awarded second place, and recorded by Vox Anima Chamber Choir at the VOCES8 Centre on May 3rd 2025, conducted by James Meaders, and accompanied by Richard Hammond-Hall with Flo Peycelon on the violin. The Choir also gave the World Premiere performance on May 17th 2025 at St Dunstan’s Church, Cranbrook.
O Oriens
Winner of Emerging Composers 2024
Composed by Anna Rocławska-Musiałczyk
In January 2024, Friends of the Vox, in association with Dan Forrest Music, invited emerging composers to submit a new work for treble voices. “O Oriens” is the first-placed entry by Polish composer Anna Roclawska-Musialczyk. Vox Anima Chamber Choir were delighted to give the World Premiere performance at St Peter’s Church Eaton Square in November 2024. The piece was recorded by Vox Anima Chamber Choir at the VOCES8 Centre in London in May 2025.
In the Catholic Church, starting from December 17, the Great Atiphons are sung at Vespers with the Magnificat, also known as the ‘O’ Antiphons, named after the letter that begins each one. They are a fervent cry to the Messiah, and at the same time, they wonderfully describe “His attributes and glorious Names”. O Oriens is the antiphon for December 21, shortest day of the year, and speaks of God as the Rising Sun.
Being Me
Composed by Joanna Gill • Text by Joshua Everett
This piece was specially commissioned for a collaborative concert featuring Concentus Women's Chorus from Rochester New York and Vox Anima Chamber Choir, and received its World Premiere performance on Sunday 9 July 2023 in St Augustine’s Chapel, Tonbridge.
It was composed by Joanna Gill, a Scottish award-winning composer, based in London & published by Universal Editions. The text comes from a poem by Joshua Everett, and explores the struggle that many of us face with our mental health, whether on a personal basis or seen through our family and friends. We were delighted that Joanna was able to be with us in the audience, and all members felt honoured to share this special piece and moment together.
In the Bleak Midwinter
Arranged by Dan Forrest • Poem by Christina Rossetti
A magical carol setting that transports the listener into Christina Rossetti’s beloved Christmas text written in London (listen for the subtle hints of Big Ben!). Ethereal melodic echos eventually build to soaring vocal lines before giving way to a tender final stanza of “What can I give him, poor as I am…”. An intimate yet deeply moving arrangement for SATB or SSA voices with piano.
It was commissioned by members of Vox Anima Chamber Choir for their conductor, James Meaders. Vox Anima Chamber Choir were thrilled to perform the World Premiere in St Peter & St Paul’s Church in Yalding, Kent on Saturday 17 December 2022.
LUX: The Dawn from on High for Upper Voices
Composed by Dan Forrest
“LUX: The Dawn From On High” is Dan Forrest’s third major work for SATB chorus and orchestra. This commission saw Dan arrange the work for Upper Voices. Vox Anima Chamber Choir gave the World Premiere performance on Sunday 30 October 2022 in St Augustine’s Chapel, Tonbridge. Their role as lead commissioner on this exciting project was only made possible by the generous legacy of Alan Dyson.
This five-movement work explores various facets of LUX (Latin for “light”), in texts ranging from ancient liturgical chant to scripture to modern secular love poetry. The music of LUX, written in 2018, was inspired thematically and spiritually by these profound texts; visually by the light in the Reims Cathedral in France and at the Poulnabrone Dolmen in Ireland; and musically by a variety of sources from ancient chant to modern minimalist composers.
The title invokes the dual meaning of the text of the first movement, where the light of dawn gradually ascends into the sky, yet the light of the world descends from the sky- a “Dawn from on High”. As a whole, the five movements trace a symmetrical journey through time - from ancient prophecy, to today (“even after all this time”), and then back again; or from another perspective, from a day’s dawn, through the sun’s high point in the sky, and then to the setting of the sun on the horizon at the end of day.