Walking to the Sun
Choral Music
chorus with chamber ensemble
work detail
instrumentation: SATB, clarinet, viola, crotales, and piano
completion date: march 2017
duration: 5 1/2 minutes
texts: "We Travelers, walking to the sun, can't see" by Wendell Berry (b. 1934). Reprinted with permission of Counterpoint.
events
OUR STORY IS NOT OVER
Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia - Dominick DiOrio
Suzanne Roberts Theater - Broad Street - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
7:30 pm
We grieve, we process, we begin to rebuild
Loss moves from pain into healing. Oppression moves from pain into resilience and power. Anguish moves from pain into hope. In March, we bring together music and poetry for a program of resilience, hope, and affirmation to take us beyond our current state to a new vision of being and belonging.
Featuring GRAMMY Award Winning baritone soloist Dashon Burton in both art song and choral music interwoven with poetry by Elizabeth Scanlon. Also featuring music of Reena Esmail, Dale Trumbore, Joel Thompson, and a world premiere by Philadelphia composer Melissa Dunphy. Plus… excerpts of major works by Paul Moravec (Sanctuary Road) and Ralph Vaughan Williams (Five Mystical Songs), and also featuring my original works Walking to the Sun and Let Us Plant Our Gardens Now. Learn more and purchase tickets.
OUR STORY IS NOT OVER
Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia - Dominick DiOrio
Suzanne Roberts Theater - Broad Street - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
7:30 pm
We grieve, we process, we begin to rebuild
Loss moves from pain into healing. Oppression moves from pain into resilience and power. Anguish moves from pain into hope. In March, we bring together music and poetry for a program of resilience, hope, and affirmation to take us beyond our current state to a new vision of being and belonging.
Featuring GRAMMY Award Winning baritone soloist Dashon Burton in both art song and choral music interwoven with poetry by Elizabeth Scanlon. Also featuring music of Reena Esmail, Dale Trumbore, Joel Thompson, and a world premiere by Philadelphia composer Melissa Dunphy. Plus… excerpts of major works by Paul Moravec (Sanctuary Road) and Ralph Vaughan Williams (Five Mystical Songs), and also featuring my original works Walking to the Sun and Let Us Plant Our Gardens Now. Learn more and purchase tickets.
audio
Walking to the Sun
Richard Sowers, conductor
videos
Walking to the Sun
Anderson University Chorale
Richard Sowers, conductor
performances
Anderson University Centennial Celebration
Anderson University Chorale
Dr. Richard Sowers, conductor
Anderson University - Anderson, IN
Anderson University Chorale
Dr. Richard Sowers, conductor
First Presbyterian Church - River Forest, IL
Anderson University Chorale
Dr. Richard Sowers, conductor
Tabernacle Presbyterian Church - Indianapolis, IN
Dr. Richard Sowers, conductor
St. Mary's Church - Bergen, Norway
Dr. Richard Sowers, conductor
Oslo Cathedral - Oslo, Norway
Dr. Richard Sowers, conductor
Dyssegårdskirken - Hellerup/Copenhagen, Denmark
Dr. Richard Sowers, conductor
St. Olai Church - Norrköping, Sweden
Dr. Richard Sowers, conductor
Kallio Church - Helsinki, Finland
Dr. Richard Sowers, conductor
Lohja Church - Lohja, Finland
Dr. Richard Sowers, conductor
Vihti Church - Vihti, Finland
Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia
Dominick DiOrio, conductor
Suzanne Roberts Theater - Broad Street - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia
Dominick DiOrio, conductor
Suzanne Roberts Theater - Broad Street - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
scores
commission and dedication
Commissioned by Dr. F. Dale and Linda G. Bengtson
for the Centennial Celebration of Anderson University (1917-2017)
and dedicated to the Anderson University Chorale and Dr. Richard Sowers, conductor
published
program note
A centennial is a joyous occasion for any institution, as we look both back to what has been accomplished and forward to the many dreams yet realized. There could be no better poem for such an occasion than Wendell Berry’s prescient “We Travelers, walking to the sun, can’t see.” Berry artfully captures the sense of wonder and uncertainty present in walking forward into the sun, a light that also illuminates the path we have traveled.
I have chosen music for Walking to the Sun that is bright and partnered. The clarinet and viola weave opening lines from the bottoms of their instruments skyward, while the piano has a simple repetitive walking motive, and the crotales announce the form in almost liturgical fashion. The chorus walks the path with the instruments, always moving and rarely static, even in the final chords of the work, both reflective and expectant.
This work is dedicated humbly to Dr. Richard Sowers and the Anderson University Chorale, and it is gratefully offered in thanks to Dr. F. Dale and Linda G. Bengtson and the entire Anderson University community. May your second century be as prosperous as the first, as you light the way for further generations of students who choose to walk forward into the unknown.
information
events
OUR STORY IS NOT OVER
Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia - Dominick DiOrio
Suzanne Roberts Theater - Broad Street - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
7:30 pm
We grieve, we process, we begin to rebuild
Loss moves from pain into healing. Oppression moves from pain into resilience and power. Anguish moves from pain into hope. In March, we bring together music and poetry for a program of resilience, hope, and affirmation to take us beyond our current state to a new vision of being and belonging.
Featuring GRAMMY Award Winning baritone soloist Dashon Burton in both art song and choral music interwoven with poetry by Elizabeth Scanlon. Also featuring music of Reena Esmail, Dale Trumbore, Joel Thompson, and a world premiere by Philadelphia composer Melissa Dunphy. Plus… excerpts of major works by Paul Moravec (Sanctuary Road) and Ralph Vaughan Williams (Five Mystical Songs), and also featuring my original works Walking to the Sun and Let Us Plant Our Gardens Now. Learn more and purchase tickets.
OUR STORY IS NOT OVER
Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia - Dominick DiOrio
Suzanne Roberts Theater - Broad Street - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
7:30 pm
We grieve, we process, we begin to rebuild
Loss moves from pain into healing. Oppression moves from pain into resilience and power. Anguish moves from pain into hope. In March, we bring together music and poetry for a program of resilience, hope, and affirmation to take us beyond our current state to a new vision of being and belonging.
Featuring GRAMMY Award Winning baritone soloist Dashon Burton in both art song and choral music interwoven with poetry by Elizabeth Scanlon. Also featuring music of Reena Esmail, Dale Trumbore, Joel Thompson, and a world premiere by Philadelphia composer Melissa Dunphy. Plus… excerpts of major works by Paul Moravec (Sanctuary Road) and Ralph Vaughan Williams (Five Mystical Songs), and also featuring my original works Walking to the Sun and Let Us Plant Our Gardens Now. Learn more and purchase tickets.
audio
Walking to the Sun
Richard Sowers, conductor
videos
Walking to the Sun
Anderson University Chorale
Richard Sowers, conductor
performances
Anderson University Centennial Celebration
Anderson University Chorale
Dr. Richard Sowers, conductor
Anderson University - Anderson, IN
Anderson University Chorale
Dr. Richard Sowers, conductor
First Presbyterian Church - River Forest, IL
Anderson University Chorale
Dr. Richard Sowers, conductor
Tabernacle Presbyterian Church - Indianapolis, IN
Dr. Richard Sowers, conductor
St. Mary's Church - Bergen, Norway
Dr. Richard Sowers, conductor
Oslo Cathedral - Oslo, Norway
Dr. Richard Sowers, conductor
Dyssegårdskirken - Hellerup/Copenhagen, Denmark
Dr. Richard Sowers, conductor
St. Olai Church - Norrköping, Sweden
Dr. Richard Sowers, conductor
Kallio Church - Helsinki, Finland
Dr. Richard Sowers, conductor
Lohja Church - Lohja, Finland
Dr. Richard Sowers, conductor
Vihti Church - Vihti, Finland
Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia
Dominick DiOrio, conductor
Suzanne Roberts Theater - Broad Street - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia
Dominick DiOrio, conductor
Suzanne Roberts Theater - Broad Street - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
scores
commission and dedication
Commissioned by Dr. F. Dale and Linda G. Bengtson
for the Centennial Celebration of Anderson University (1917-2017)
and dedicated to the Anderson University Chorale and Dr. Richard Sowers, conductor
published
program note
A centennial is a joyous occasion for any institution, as we look both back to what has been accomplished and forward to the many dreams yet realized. There could be no better poem for such an occasion than Wendell Berry’s prescient “We Travelers, walking to the sun, can’t see.” Berry artfully captures the sense of wonder and uncertainty present in walking forward into the sun, a light that also illuminates the path we have traveled.
I have chosen music for Walking to the Sun that is bright and partnered. The clarinet and viola weave opening lines from the bottoms of their instruments skyward, while the piano has a simple repetitive walking motive, and the crotales announce the form in almost liturgical fashion. The chorus walks the path with the instruments, always moving and rarely static, even in the final chords of the work, both reflective and expectant.
This work is dedicated humbly to Dr. Richard Sowers and the Anderson University Chorale, and it is gratefully offered in thanks to Dr. F. Dale and Linda G. Bengtson and the entire Anderson University community. May your second century be as prosperous as the first, as you light the way for further generations of students who choose to walk forward into the unknown.
