An exciting extended work by Kyle Pederson, centered around themes of social justice?inviting the choir and audience into a compelling vision of a world rooted in compassion, freedom, inclusivity and justice. This five-movement, genre-bending work is for SATB chorus, with piano, spoken word, and optional violin, snare drum, and trumpet. Texts by Langston Hughes, Walt Whitman, Robert Bode, Shanelle Gabriel, and Pederson invite the listener to reach out and build bridges of care and connection, that we might find a better way of being in community. That we might stand in solidarity with those whose voices are too often dismissed, regardless of their skin color, sexual orientation, faith background, or other characteristic. That we might not dismiss, disdain, and judge those whose politics are different from ours, but that we might make the uncomfortable effort to see them as people just as worthy of respect and dignity. Each of the five movements in the work can be performed as a stand-alone piece; and choirs are welcome to craft their own spoken word narration (poetry, speech excerpts, etc) throughout the work to explore themes and perspectives that most resonate for their community/audience.
Contents:
1. Reach Down, Lord
2. Beat! Drums!
3. All of Me
4. Light Transforms the Darkness
5. I Dream a World.
