Excerpt of ‘Tis You from the premiere performance by the Voorhees Choir, conducted by Brandon Williams
Instrumentation: SSA divisi & piano
Duration: 4:10
Program Note:
I originally composed ‘Tis You, a setting of Amy Lowell’s poem, Listening, for the Centennial of Douglass College, my Alma Mater. Created for the Voorhees Choir, originally the women’s chorus of Douglass College (now of Rutgers University), the premiere took place on 12/2/17 during the Choir’s fall concert, and on 12/3/17 during the Yule Log Ceremony at the Voorhees Chapel on the Douglass campus. Long a fan of Lowell’s poetry, I found this one in An Anthology of Great U.S. Women Poets 1850-1990. I love the way the poem speaks of the internal music of our beings, the meaning of our individual contributions, and also our role in the larger ocean of life. After the premiere, I shortened the piece and composed this additional version for SSA divisi and piano. –JS