Our Call For Hope – Winner of the Jubilee 2025 Songwriting Competition

The 2025 Jubilee Songwriting Competition invited songwriters to capture Pope Francis’ vision for the Holy Year, expressing in both lyrics and melody the call for Catholics to embrace unity and look towards a future filled with compassion and peace. The winner was announced on Friday 30 May and I was honoured to hear that my composition, ‘Our Call for Hope’ had been selected. John Burland, renowned liturgical composer and musician, commented that my song “stood out for its musical excellence, lyrical depth, and powerful expression of the Jubilee theme,” and that “the judging panel was deeply moved.” I’m so grateful for this outcome and the opportunity to share my work with a wider audience.

Writing this song was a rewarding experience that allowed me to reflect on the values of the Jubilee Year and share my passion for music and songwriting. To compose this piece and in order to fulfill the competition’s criteria, I took a different approach from my usual style of songwriting. Usually I compose the music first, then improvise lyrics and melodies to workshop its overall structure and product. For this competition, however, I started with the lyrics, laying out the sections and focusing on the messages I hoped to convey. I wanted each lyric to tell a unique story so that when sung with the piano, they created a complete and emotionally powerful piece. It was a more thoughtful and structured process than usual but incredibly rewarding

Songwriting is an integral part of my life and being able to use it to communicate messages that resonate with so many people is something truly special to me. With each song I write and every opportunity to explore new lyrical and musical styles, I continue to grow as both an artist and a storyteller—skills I hope to carry into a future career as a professional singer-songwriter.

I look forward to the opportunity to work with John Burland and international producer, Philippe-Marc Anquetil to bring this track to life, as well as to the upcoming live performances. As an international theme, my song will be shared across multiple networks and hopefully inspire a wider community with its message. I’m so grateful for this opportunity to extend my craft and look forward to sharing the final product with everyone.