me(n)

TTBB and piano

The title for this piece is a reference to the fact that the text is the result of two aspects of its creation. First, it's about how young men navigate the various pressures society throws their way. These are things like interactions with their peers, siblings, parents, and teachers, but also things like society's notions of race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, etc. How did these young men overcome the bad stuff, maneuver through the tricky stuff, and incorporate the good stuff?

In order to find a text that would express such a specific idea I decided to go straight to the source: the high school students in the choir itself. So I had them respond to a prompt and finish the sentence “I know that I am greater than...” as many times as they wanted in order to find out, and they couldn't have done a more beautiful job. So the text is actually made up of edited versions of their words. This is the reason for the parenthetical in the title.

me(n) was commissioned by the Flower Mound High School Men’s Chamber Choir (Dr. Mark Rohwer, conductor) and received its premiere in Orchestra Hall on March 8, 2017 at the national convention of the American Choral Directors Association in Minneapolis. It is dedicated with gratitude to the members of the ensemble and their conductor.

The Text

Adapted from anonymous responses by members of the commissioning ensemble.

I know that I am greater...
...than how others may see me
...than the challenges I may to face
...than all the ways that people can hate
...than than the person they say I should be
...than the numbers that may define me
...than the expectations of being a man

I know that I am greater...
...than how people see the color of my skin
...than what people think of who I love
...than the stresses in my life
...than the pressures coming from my parents
...than what my teachers may think of me
...than what I may think of myself
...than the boy you think you know

I know that I am greater...
...than my worst few moments
...than the things in life I cannot change
...than the limitations I place on myself

I know that I am greater when I try to understand
That I'm on my own,
But I'm not alone
If I try to lend a hand.

I know that I am greater if I never, ever lie.
To be upright
And “Win the good fight,”
Can always be my battle cry.

And I may not agree about you and me
But it's never too late
To be a little kinder,
A living reminder that
love will always conquer hate.

I know.

Performed by the Flower Mound High School Men’s Chamber Ensemble
(Dr. Mark Rohwer, conductor and Jocelyn Hagen, piano).