Carleton music professor James Wright crafted a musical adaptation of Jack Layton’s final letter to Canadians to commemorate the late former New Democratic Party leader. The music was produced for a ceremony when Olivia Chow, Layton’s wife, accepted a posthumous Peace Award for her husband at Ottawa’s city hall Sept. 29.
“Peace, social justice, care for our planet, was what Jack was very committed to all of his life,” Chow said in her acceptance speech, noting her husband’s opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, missile defence and nuclear armament.
Wright said he was approached by the Leading Note Foundation to write a piece for the 10th anniversary of the Friends for Peace Day.
The foundation is an Ottawa organization that provides instruments and instruction to children who have not had the opportunity to learn music, including underprivileged youth.
“The foundation won the Peace Award last year and so they were asked to bring the children back this year to perform for this ceremony,” Wright said.
“They asked me if I would adapt Jack Layton’s letter to Canadians, so I took the ‘To Young Canadians’ section of the letter and set it to music.”
Wright said he just “let the words lead the way” when composing the piece.
“Really, what I always do, especially when writing choral music or vocal music of any kind is just start with the words. So the words here . . . they’re pretty inspiring, you know, about hope and optimism and how love is better than anger, hope is better than fear and with a little optimism we can change the world,” he said.
Ian Prattis, founder of Friends for Peace, the organization that presented the award, called the piece “one of the best things [Wright has] ever written.”
Prattis said the group chose to recognize Layton for “his endeavours for peace and his particular orientation towards young people.”
Chow thanked Wright and the foundation for their “great gift of music,” and the young performers for their work in the name of peace.
“In this world we need more of the harmony you create when you play together, young people,” Chow said. “[With] the message that you sung about hope, optimism and love, we can change the world.”
“You’ve already started doing that, young people, you’re already the messengers for peace and for hope. I know you will bring more harmony to the world with your music . . . So on behalf of Jack’s family . . . thank you.”
