The songwriting team of Christian St. Roch from Chateauguay, Que., and Jimmy Tanaka of Verdun, Que., grabbed the last semifinal spot Friday in Canada's Hockey Anthem Challenge with their entry, Let the Game Begin.
The contest to find new theme music for Hockey Night in Canada was launched June 19 by CBC Sports after the broadcaster didn't renew the rights to The Hockey Theme, the song the program had been using for 40 years. The rights were subsequently purchased by CTV Inc.
St. Roch and Tanaka have spent their lives working with music, compiling long resumes in the field of writing and composition, including, for St. Roch, work on the theme song for the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal.
The duo were the last of five semifinalists to be profiled on CBC's The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos, appearing Friday night. The other semifinalists are: Graham McRae (Eleventh Hour), Colin Oberst of Edmonton (Canadian Gold) and Torontonians Robert Fraser Burke (Sticks to the Ice) and Gerry Mosby (Ice Warriors).
Television viewers can hear all five submissions in their entirety on the Hockey Night In Canada Anthem Challenge, a one-hour special hosted by Ron MacLean and Stroumboulopoulos on Saturday (CBC-TV, 9 p.m. ET local time).
Each of the five semifinalists will be introduced with a recording of their respective entry —produced by Bob Rock, a multiple Juno Award winner, and played by a full orchestra — played on the show.
The opening round of voting begins immediately following the program and closes Oct. 7.
During that period, Canadians can cast their votes for the winning entry at CBCSports.ca/anthemchallenge, by phone and via SMS on their mobile phones.
Two finalists will be announced during a special Thursday edition of Hockey Night in Canada on Oct. 9, when the Toronto Maple Leafs travel to Detroit and the Calgary Flames visit the Vancouver Canucks.
That is when the second round of voting opens, closing on Oct. 10.
The winning submission will be revealed Oct. 11 on Hockey Night In Canada's traditional Saturday night doubleheader (Montreal Canadiens at Toronto, Vancouver at Calgary).
The winner of Canada's Hockey Anthem Challenge will receive $100,000 and half of the ongoing royalties, with the other half invested in minor hockey.
