September 24, 2006: Premiere of The Rising Curve of Day for mezzo-soprano and orchestra. This work was commissioned by CBC radio as part of a special birthday celebration of Canadian poet and visual artist, P. K. Page. The Rising Curve of Day was premiered by mezzo-soprano Rosemarie Vanderhooft and the Victoria Symphony under the direction of Tania Miller. The premiere was broadcast on CBC Radio’s Symphony Hall (Oct. 1); In Performance (Nov. 15) and Two New Hours (Nov. 19).
In 1992, I started work on a large-scale piece that made use of some of PK Page’s poetry. As I worked on this piece, I began a correspondence with PK that included notes on her poems as well as her thoughts on some of my music. PK’s reactions included numerous cartoons and drawings. When I moved to British Columbia in 1994, I had the opportunity to meet PK at her home in Victoria. This experience has resonated with me for over a decade and I have wanted to revisit the wonderful world of PK’s poems ever since.
The Rising Curve of Day is a setting of three of PK Page’s poems: The World; Emergence; and Preparation. The first and second songs are played without a pause and song three balances the first two in terms of duration. The music takes its emotional and developmental cues from PK’s words and offers a wide range of texture, instrumental colour and expression. It is approximately 12 minutes long. The Rising Curve of Day was commissioned by CBC Radio to commemorate PK Page’s 90th birthday in 2006. It was premiered on September 24, 2006 by mezzo-soprano Rosemarie van der Hooft and the Victoria Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Tania Miller.