I hold within my hand Infinities I cannot comprehend— World within wonder worlds Again, a clover leaf A bit of bark, a bug Minute and unidentifiable. I touch them reverently And wonder how God made it all— Our world, our universe So huge, so small. -Elizabeth Rooney Text Used With Permission Commissioned and Premiered by The Columbus Girls Choir, Cherry …
And I Can Sing
This work was commissioned by a colleague from Atlanta, Greg Smith. Greg has always had fantastic choirs, and he had just moved to a new school a year before he asked me to write this piece. Any poem about music is always ripe for setting– this one is no different. With poetry by James Weldon Johnson, “And I Can Sing” …
Deep River
This classic spiritual setting was a commission from one of my closest lifelong musical mentors, Lori Ziecker. “Mrs. Z” started numerous choral programs in Gwinnett County outside of Atlanta, GA. She is a pioneer in choral education, not only creating these choirs from nothing, but also bringing them each to high levels of excellence. The original commission was for the …
The White Cloud
The White Cloud is the first of three movements of a set entitled “A Child’s Voice”. The poetry of this set was written by American child poet Hilda Conkling, who wrote all of her poetry before the age of 12. Uniquely innocent yet well-crafted, her words lent themselves powerfully and easily to music. Commissioned and Premiered by The Southern Chorale, …
Brother John
A 20th century setting of the Mother Goose fairy tale “Brother John”. Part of “Mother Goose Gone Mad”. Perfect for children’s or middle school choirs.
As Subtle As Tomorrow
Text by Emily Dickinson Premiered by The Chamber Singers, The University of Southern Mississippi, Dell Smith, Conductor
About My Dreams
I wrote About My Dreams for my cousin Hope, who has hypoplastic left heart syndrome, which means she was born without two chambers of her heart. As if it wasn’t enough that she had multiple open heart surgeries, she also survived a serious stroke. She is a true walking miracle. The text for this piece is from American child poet …
cruelly, love
Believe it or not, I wrote this piece for a middle school choir. Amon Eady, one of my best friends, built an amazing choral program at White Station Middle School early in his career. He commissioned me to write a lush and mature piece for his group to perform at the TN Music Educator’s Convention, and “cruelly, love” was the …