The Stream

Instrumentation: SATB a cappella
Duration: 3-4 minutes
Year: 2018

Audio Excerpt

Program Notes

This piece was part of a group commission initiated by Dr. Joseph Ohrt for the Central Bucks West Choir. I was told early on that the piece should be about an issue regarding conversation and environmentalism, which is a topic that I am interested in researching more about as part of my dissertation.

The Stream concerns the pollution of rivers as a result of waste products being continually dumped into them. The concept of the piece is inspired by poetry by Juliana Spahr titled “Gentle Now, Don’t Add to Heartache”, but I wrote the words to the piece. In it, the choir sings and vocalizes the names of common products that are disposed in our waterways that create environmental harm. The composition opens slowly with harmonies that describe the beauty of the stream before giving way to an urgent second half.