‘Prayer in a Green Cathedral’ at Westminster United Church

As Winnipeg cleans up after the latest Colorado low to pummel southern and central Manitoba, anticipation is high for the world premiere performance of Kevin Lau’s most recent commission.

Following the success of their first collaboration—Writ in Water (2018) with repeat tour performances across Canada a year later—Lau was appointed Manitoba Chamber Orchestra Composer-in-Residence beginning in 2021 and Prayer in a Green Cathedral is the first resulting piece.

Composer Kevin Lau and oboist Caitlin Broms-Jacobs collaborating on new concerto

Working closely with MCO principal oboist Caitlin Broms-Jacobs, the concerto premieres on Tuesday, April 26 as part of the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra’s Spring Festival.

In a conversation ahead of the premiere, Kevin Lau and Caitlin Broms-Jacobs joined Simeon Rusnak to talk more about the developing relationship between composer and orchestra; the genesis of the concerto and its evocative title; the role and sound of the solo instrument; and, what one should—or shouldn’t—take away from the performance.