How Illuminare Came to Be

Elaine Hagenberg’s Illuminare was initially financed and publicized through a group of choirs that formed a commissioning consortium in 2021. This type of support for a major musical work  is a classic case of a win-win situation. The composer can offer a way for groups to share the financial cost of a commission and is also assured of a certain number of performances right off the bat. The choirs are able to share in the project at a lowered cost without any diminution of quality. Indeed, for Illuminare, a 24-minute orchestrated piece, the cost-sharing aspects surely made the commission as a whole possible, as it would have been difficult for any one choir to undertake the financial burden of such a long work. All of the consortium choirs get to participate in the excitement of a performance premiere and (possibly) have the composer present. My own choir, the Cherry Creek Chorale in the Denver area, was privileged to have Ms. Hagenberg on board for our final rehearsal. The composer was a full collaborator that evening, listening and critiquing gently but firmly.

Illuminare is now being performed widely. It’s always helpful, I think, for choir members to know a little about the origins of a work. I therefore contacted all ten directors/conductors of the consortium choirs, asking how their groups had gotten involved with this project. The gracious replies I’ve received were delightful; I’m sorry that I can’t quote all of them in full. What has been clear from these responses is the importance, and the mystery, of human relationships. I’ve felt as I read the snippets of information I received about Illuminare as if I were getting mosaic tiles that I could fit together into some type of coherent whole.

Please read the rest of what I discovered about Illuminare on my blog.