The Hockey Sweater goes to the symphony

Roch Carrier's classic children's story The Hockey Sweater has been transformed into a musical event in a new work to be performed with symphonies in Toronto, Ottawa and Calgary.

A group of Toronto children got a sneak peek Wednesday, featuring a reading of the story by Carrier himself.

First published in 1979, The Hockey Sweater tells the tale of a Quebec boy who orders a new hockey sweater from the Eaton’s catalogue and gets a Maple Leafs jersey, instead of one featuring his beloved Habs.

The story, an allegory for French-English relations in Canada, was translated into English by Sheila Fischman, became an animated short created by the Natonal Film Board and was released in 1984 as a picture book, with  art by Sheldon Cohen.

Its enduring grip on the public imagination prompted three Canadian orchestras to commission composer Abigail Richardson to set the story to music. The Hockey Sweater is jointly commissioned by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the National Arts Centre Orchestra and the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra.

Richardson has served as an affiliate composer with the TSO and wrote the opera Sanctuary Song.

The young fans who saw Wednesday’s performance were impressed  by both the story and the music.

The Hockey Sweater makes its world premiere on May 12 in Toronto, with Carrier reading and Team Canada player and former MP Ken Dryden as host. It's part of an all-Canadian program including André Jutras' Suite folklorique, John Estacio's Borealis and Doris Clayman's Hockey Night in Canada.