Swiss composer and choir leader Michael Zaugg told a talk show host on Canada’s Global News channel that he likes to cook. He enjoys using ingredients with special characteristics and forming these into a harmonious, coherent whole. Cooking is, essentially, not too dissimilar to his orchestral and choral work, he said.
Zaugg studied choral conducting in Basel before embarking on a postgraduate programme in Stockholm. He emigrated to Canada over 20 years ago, where he now lives with his family. The conductor is the Managing and Artistic Director of Pro Coro Canada in Edmonton, one of Canada’s leading professional chamber choirs. In this role, he has forged a musical blend that has earned him and his choir great acclaim. Pro Coro Canada have now performed on an acoustic album that even people who know nothing about classical choir music can relate to: the Ukrainian War Requiem by Benedict Sheehan, who is a globally important American composer of 21st-century classical religious music.
A few months ago, the recording won the 2026 Juno Award for Best Classical Album in the “Large Ensemble” category. The Juno Awards are Canada’s premier music industry awards, often described as the equivalent of the Grammy Awards in the US. Zaugg and his choir collaborated on the album with the Axios Men’s Ensemble, a Canadian choir dedicated to performing Eastern sacred music in both liturgical and concert settings for modern audiences. Axios also includes Ukrainian singers.
A requiem is a musical work composed to commemorate the dead. Yet Sheehan’s work is more than just that. The Ukrainian War Requiem not only honours the countless victims of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but also pays tribute to the resistance of the Ukrainian people. Zaugg wanted the recording to encapsulate the Ukrainian spirit. He says his task was to bring together different nationalities – Ukrainians, Canadians, Americans – and mould an ensemble in which everyone felt welcome and at ease. Doing so was a source of great joy.
It is a sentiment that resonates throughout this magnificent album – even if you listen to it from the comfort of your armchair. The brutality of death in war is a reality. As is the undying will to live.
Ukrainian War Requiem. Composer: Benedict Sheehan. Conductor: Michael Zaugg. Pro Coro Canada, Axios Men’s Ensemble. Soloists: John Tessier, Yuliia Zasimova. Available on all streaming platforms.
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