When people learn about the existence of this project, I'm often asked "How did this project start?" or "Who commissioned this work?" or some other variation of the question.
I was talking with a friend in late November or early December of 2013, and we were discussing the (then) upcoming 24th anniversary of the École Polytechnique Massacre, and the years since it happened. I said something along the lines of "Somebody's gotta write a requiem for the 25th anniversary."
And then the idea just wouldn't go away, and it percolated and developed in my mind and heart and ears as I went about the rest of my stuff. And after a bit I found I had collected a series of texts that would be appropriate. After another bit I realized that enough of it was sketched out that I could reasonably expect to finish the project, and perhaps I should start talking to people about potentially performing it.
When Sienna Dahlen agreed to perform as the soloist, there was no longer any "maybe" about the project, and I was fully committed to pulling together the resources to perform it. Since then the project has been finding its feet. A venue was secured for the anniversary date, instrumentalists agreed to perform, and poets granted permission for the use of their work as texts. The details just started falling into place, and I continued composing.
So, in answer to the original question, from my perspective it really seems that the work commissioned itself, and it's up to me to keep up with it. It is simply something that must be done. And it's so worth doing.
