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A Victoria composer says he's 鈥渃huffed鈥� that the Queen was serenaded with one of his works this week.
Tobin Stokes鈥檚 composition Canoe was performed for the Queen and her husband, Prince Philip, for a celebration at sa国际传媒 House in London on Wednesday.
The event celebrated sa国际传媒鈥檚 150th birthday and bade farewell to Gov. Gen. David Johnston, whose terms ends this fall.
鈥淚 was chuffed to see that soprano Eve Daniell sang one of my pieces for the Queen at sa国际传媒 House,鈥� said Stokes, calling it an honour. London-based Daniell was born in Duncan.
Canoe is the final movement from Stokes鈥檚 2011 work Stories of Klee Wyck. Based on Emily Carr鈥檚 1941 autobiographical book, Klee Wyck, the piece was originally commissioned for the Victoria Symphony, the Emily Carr String Quartet and mezzo soprano Marion Newman.
Stokes said he passed along the music for the five-minute Canoe segment to Daniell a few months ago, but he didn鈥檛 learn she鈥檇 sung it for the Queen until after the performance. 鈥淸The news] was in a short note [Daniell] sent yesterday. It was really exciting,鈥� he said.
Stokes, a former composer-in-residence for the Victoria Symphony, studied music at the University of Victoria. His resum茅 includes several operas, including Fallujah, debuted by the Long Beach Opera last year, and his 2014 chamber opera Pauline, created with author Margaret Atwood.
In November, his opera Rattenbury, about Victoria architect Francis Rattenbury, will be performed by Pacific Opera Victoria.
During her visit to sa国际传媒 House, the Queen was given a sapphire brooch to commemorate her sapphire jubilee. Her visit made headlines in Britain after Johnston touched the Queen鈥檚 arm while helping her up the stairs of sa国际传媒 House. Touching the Queen is considered a breach of protocol.