The CBC Virtual Orchestra—a newly formed ensemble of 36 musicians from 28 different Canadian orchestras—will perform the virtual world premiere of Vivian Fung’s Prayer, on July 1, 2020, Canada Day. Prayer was commissioned by CBC Music and led by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, music director of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and Orchestre Metropolitain in Montreal. CBC Music and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra organized the premiere, which will be broadcast and streamed on CBC radio stations and website. Fung wrote the new piece during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Under no other circumstance in the past (or probably in the future) have I worn my heart on my sleeve as transparently as I have with this piece,” says Fung. “In the end, I chose a chant from my composer heroine Hildegard von Bingen as inspiration for my prayer.” The premiere will be broadcast and streamed at various points on July 1: at 7 a.m. ET at CBC.ca/music; on CBC Radio One and via the CBC Listen app at 7:45 a.m. local time; and on CBC Music and via the CBC Listen app at 12:50 p.m. local time.
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