The Robert DeCormier Memorial Composition Award 2019
On Friday, December 13th, 2019 the VT-ACDA presented the world premiere of “Restoration Chorus” with music by Vermont composer James Stewart and lyrics by writer/poet Allison Roark. This piece was commissioned in memory of Robert De Cormier who passed away in November of 2017.
The premiere was at our annual Madrigal Festival in Burlington, VT with other presentations scheduled throughout the season with other ensembles.
Robert once said, “Music is an important part of our lives. I’ve never been able to quite figure it out what it is really except I know I couldn’t live without it and I don’t think people can really exist without music.” That quote has become the inspiration for this poem…
Restoration Chorus
A pantoum by Allison C. Roark
Music by James Stewart
There is a silence that falls around me
Standing alone out here in the wild
My voice an echo of all I see
Protecting my heart since just a child
Standing alone out here in the wild
I hear a chord rise with warmth and shine
Protecting my heart since just a child
And other hearts sing that broke like mine
I hear a chord rise with warmth and shine
I lift up my voice to join the chorus
And other hearts sing that broke like mine
There is a song that can restore us
I lift up my voice to join the chorus
Now there is music that falls around me
There is a song that can restore us
My voice an echo of all I see
2019 Award Recipient – James Stewart
You might recognize James Stewart as VPR Classical’s afternoon host. As a composer, he is
interested in many different genres of music; writing for rock bands, symphony orchestras and
everything in between.
James received a Bachelor of Science in Music with an emphasis in Composition from Toccoa
Falls College in Northeast Georgia in 2001. In 2007, James earned his Master’s of Music in
Composition from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, North
Carolina. There he also made connections with the Open Dream Ensemble, an outreach arm of
UNCSA and the Kenan Institute for the Arts.
James wrote original music for five children’s shows and spent three years as music director, tour
manager, and company member. In 2014, James received his Doctorate of Musical Arts from
The Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford in Connecticut.
Chair – Robert DeCormier Choral Composition Award
Matt LaRocca
Executive Director
Music-COMP
matt@music-comp.org
Matthew LaRocca is a composer, conductor and educator based in Burlington VT. He is on the faculty of UVM and directs the Champlain Philharmonic Orchestra and South Burlington Community Choir. Matt is also the Executive Director of Music-COMP, a Vermont organization that teaches composition to elementary through high school students and facilitates live performances of their music by professional musicians. Committed to new music and innovation, Matt is the Artistic Curator of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra’s ‘Jukebox’ concert series.
As a composer, Matt’s work has been commissioned by groups such as the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, the Metropolitan Wind Symphony, the New Jersey Youth Symphony and the Great Falls Symphony Orchestra. From 2007-2008 he was the Faculty Composer in Residence for the Montana State University Symphony. Artistic residencies include an expedition to the high arctic through The Arctic Circle organization and free improvisation residencies at schools in New Hampshire and California. He frequently performs as both a violist and a guitarist.
Matt attended Middlebury College, graduating with a B.A. in chemistry and music. He holds a Masters of Music from Carnegie Mellon University and a doctorate from Boston University.
Vermont ACDA 