Sarah Quartel (b.1982)

Sarah Quartel is a Canadian composer and educator known for her fresh and exciting approach to choral music. She celebrates the musical potential of all learners by providing singers access to engaging repertoire and transformative musical experiences. Deeply inspired by the life-changing relationships that can occur while making choral music, Sarah writes in a way that connects singer to singer, ensemble to conductor, and performer to audience. Although she has been a full-time composer since 2017, Sarah chooses to remain connected to her past as a music educator and is a guest teacher in her hometown of London, Canada. Sarah continues to work as a clinician and conductor at music education and choral events at home and abroad.

"Quartel composed both text and music for this atmospheric anthem cast in two distinct sections . . . Whereas the drum appears only in the second half, the cello weaves through the texture nearly continuously. The driving rhythm of the second half, enhanced by the piano as well as the djembe, breaks suddenly for a striking unaccompanied conclusion as the voices recede from fortissimo first to a gentle calm then to a final cadence of unexpected rhythmic activity. The rather unspecific spirituality of the text invites imaginative use of the anthem in various concert or liturgical positions." - Jason Overall, Journal of the Association of Anglican Musicians, Jan 20