alleluia (from quarantine) – SATB & piano

When I entered lockdown in March 2020 due to COVID-19, I sat down to write something that wasn’t commissioned but, rather, a form of self-care for me during such an unprecedented time. It’s a setting of the word “alleluia” which, for me, has always been a word that expresses gratitude; being thankful for friends and family and music and laughter (and also sadness). The work that came out had some slow, legato moments but also bright, rhythmic stuff. And it ends with a thunderous B-major chord.

Initially, I thought that I might put together a consortium simply to premiere this thing I had written, but then I wondered how this composition could do something for the broader musical community during the pandemic. I wanted to attempt to support those friends and colleagues of mine who make their money by putting together a full-time living by combining multiple part-time or one-off gigs who were struggling with their livelihood because quarantine essentially completely hobbled public performances. These people don’t feel “non-essential” to me, and never have.

So, what I ended up doing was attempting to put together a consortium of choirs to premiere the piece and give 100% of the result to a charity for gigging musicians called the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund which provides financial assistance to career musicians in need. In the wake of the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization established a fund specifically for musicians and music industry workers affected by the pandemic; funds raised went towards medical expenses, lodging, clothing, food, and other vital living expenses to those impacted due to sickness or loss of work.

The piece I wrote ended up being scored for double choir but, because of the direction it took me, I was also able to adapt it into a pretty cool version for mixed choir and piano so as many ensembles as possible can join in. After a sustained outreach effort, there was such an outpouring of support that the consortium raised over $11,000 with ensembles joining from Texas, California, Oregon, Minnesota, North Carolina, Colorado, Louisiana, Rhode Island, Washington, Arizona, Arkansas, South Carolina, Iowa, Ohio, Georgia, Nebraska, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Utah, and Missouri, and they represented every different kind of eligible choir; high school, church, collegiate, community, and professional ensembles all donated. The process turned into a truly inspiring coast-to-coast, border-to-border, national project to help support the gigging musicians that are one of the backbones of our art!

– Joshua Shank