Last summer, TCWC announced a competition for new works by female composers speaking to the theme of Illuminations: The Return of Light to Our Lives.  Entries were received from across the country and as far away as Great Britain, and this beautiful piece by Dr. Ellen Gilson Voth, based on a poem by Sylvia Ross, was selected as a winner.

Voth enjoys a diverse career as a choral conductor, educator, composer and pianist.  She earned her doctoral degree in music education with a choral conducting emphasis at the Hartt School of Music in West Hartford, CT.

The competition was developed as a new way to support the choir's mission: to sing, perform and affirm the voices of women.

We were very excited to add the choral composition contest to our annual Illuminations concert. Illuminations takes place in December and is our first major concert of the season. Our February show is a collaborative performance with another group. Our May show has the Divas & Desserts theme and we often debut a commissioned piece there. Adding the choral composition contest to Illuminations concert rounds out our season with another component by which we live our mission to "Sing, Perform, and Affirm the Voices of Women."