In 1981, I returned to Toronto from graduate studies at Mills College. Even before arriving I had laid the plans to acquire a gamelan and start an ensemble that would be principally devoted to the performance of contemporary music for those instruments. The bronze parts of the gamelan arrived on Feb. 14, 1983 and work immediately began on designing and building the stands for which my father, James Siddall, played a crucial role. The ensemble was soon named and the Evergreen Club was born.

In 1993, the ensemble commissioned me to write a work to help celebrate their 10th anniversary. I was happy to accept and wrote “Palace”. This work set out to make a splash. Partly, I wanted to acknowledge how good the musicians are in the ensemble. I knew they could make the most of it and they always do.

The work is dedicated to Si Pawit, which is the name given to the original set of instruments used by the Evergreen Club. This work was made possible with the assistance of the Ontario Arts Council.