“Ode to Lotta: a Canadian Choral Cantata” – to be premiered by the Vancouver Chamber Choir on Nov 28  –  is by far the most challenging creative project I have taken on in my “late in life” choral composing career. Why have I done this?

Three basic reasons emerge:

1. Like millions of Canadians who grew up in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, Lotta Hitschmanova (1909-1990) left an indelible imprint on my spirit. I must have heard her voice thousands of times on the radio and TV with her distinctive Czech accent and her unique uniform.

As young boys, we would often imitate her voice. But at the same time, seeds were planted.

She spoke to our hearts, told us there were people in great need far away, she urged us to offer any support that we could, to help people in far off lands.

Lotta’s message left a deep impact and still resonates within Canadian society today.

2. Then, in 1993 I was delighted to land a job at 56 Sparks Street in Ottawa (pictured above), the famous address Lotta had mentioned so many times in her TV/radio ads.

I worked with USC Canada (the Unitarian Service Committee or as it is now called SeedChange) for 22 years. The first 15 years were with the international Seeds of Survival program and the last 7 years were with the fundraising team.

During that latter time, I had the privilege of communicating with hundreds and hundreds of loyal USC supporters who still remembered Lotta. Some of whom had met her, had volunteered for her (including my grandmother Mary Rain in Winnipeg), and had been personally thanked by her.

And I gradually came to understand just how important Lotta had been as a woman leader in a male-dominated society, but also how she had helped shape the core values (caring and compassion for others far away) that still underpin much of Canadian society today.

3. When I left USC Canada in 2015, having sung in choirs most of my life, I suddenly “caught the composing bug.” After I had completed 5 or 6 songs, and 3 of them had actually been performed in public (thanks to Pierre Massie and the Stairwell Carollers!), the idea of doing something larger than a single song came to me.

At first I thought of writing “Lotta: the Musical.” A few years and a few more songs later, and I realized musical theatre was too big a “stretch” for this late-in-life composer.

But then I thought, what about a large choral work, a cantata perhaps? And thus, for the past 5 or 6 years that seed has been slowly germinating, until this year, when the 14 songs that make up Ode to Lotta have all been written (and revised many times!)

I hope listeners will enjoy the songs sung by Kari Turunen and the Vancouver Chamber Choir, and my cousin Madeleine Shaw’s narration in between the songs.

Beyond the music, however, my great hope is that listeners to Ode to Lotta will get inspired by Lotta’s remarkable life story itself.

And that they might then have the urge to go out and learn more about one of the most beloved and impactful woman leaders in our Canadian social history.

Stay tuned for the next instalment along the road to #OdeToLotta…..

And for tickets to the Nov 28 Ode to Lotta concert in Vancouver, click here.

Photo credit, David Chan, Globe and Mail