This is why we sing

SATB, a cappella

In late 2014 I was commissioned to write something for the twentieth anniversary of The Summer Singers, a fine choir in Minnesota made up of people who missed having an outlet for their talents during the choral “off season.” I was moved by their desire to always be singing and wondered if we might try to find a text that somehow spoke to that element of their history. I asked poet Robert Ressler to see if he could come up with an original text and, after a few months of talking about it, he sent the gorgeous poem he had come up with. It’s universal, humbling, grand, and intimate at the same time, and it was a joy to compose to.

The final “chord” is my tribute to The Summer Singers and their 20-year history. Even when the temperature in Minnesota rises and most choral ensembles take a break, there is still a group of friends and colleagues who—like any choir in the world—gather to make beautiful music together.

The Text

By Robert Ressler (b. 1988)

There were tops, spinning,
through time and space,
like marbles
rolling
through a wooden maze.
There were particles of dust
in the cosmic winds.
A spark ignites.
The music begins.

There were notes that flew
to replace the pieces
of a broken promise
never made.
There were the great symphonies of the stars
of birds, and cicadas, and man.

These things that make us dream
also make us sing.
The glow of lights does not dim
our one connection.
This is why we sing.

We sing to manifest our dreams
in the very vibrations
of stone and air.
We sing so hope and love are not lost;
we find them in song and
this is why we sing.

The great continuity
of the human experience.
This is why we sing.

There is thunder.
There is rain.
There is silence.
There is peace.

There is shelter.
There is warmth.
There is dignity.
There is love.

There is union.
There is glory.
There is beauty.
There is light.

There is compassion.
There is trust.
There is bravery.
There is joy.

There is matter.
There is infinity.
There is spirit.
There is space.

There is loneliness.
There is war.
There is friendship.
There is creation.

There is despair.
There is hope.
This is why we sing.

To find our way,
To raise our voice,
To make it known:
There can be a tomorrow
There can be this moment.
There can be a truth that
Everyone deserves to be loved.

And this is why we sing.

Performed by the Summer Singers
(Vicki Peters, conductor).