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About the Composer
Saunder Choi
Saunder Choi Music
A Journey of Your Own
A heartfelt musical odyssey that weaves together the narratives in Tagalog (Filipino) and English that reflect on the transformative power of community, love, and the evolving definition of what “home” is.
SATB div. a cappella
Embark on the captivating musical narrative of “A Journey of Your Own,” a commissioned piece by the Los Angeles Master Chorale, that beautifully intertwines the heartfelt stories of two poets from the two cities that the composer calls home: Manila and Los Angeles. This extraordinary composition invites you to reflect on the transformative power of community, love, and courage as it explores the evolving concept of home and the profound connections we forge along our personal journeys. With evocative harmonies and a forward rhythmic drive, this unforgettable piece will stir your soul and inspire you to embrace your own path, guided by love and courage.
Composer’s Notes
As I reflected on the idea of home for a City called Heaven, I realized January 2022 will mark 10 years since I left Manila for the US, in pursuit of music, education, and even liberation from the environment I grew up in. The idea of home as a physical location has dissolved and transformed into something else — a community, a family you’re born into or one that you’ve chosen. I now feel at home in Los Angeles, amongst friends and loved ones, as I once did in Manila, amongst family. For this reason, I invited two poets to collaborate with on this project, one from an old home and one from my new. Joey Vargas and I met as choristers in the Philippine Madrigal Singers. He is one of the most gifted writers and theater artists back in the Philippines. Brian and I met when I was a grad student at USC, and collaborated on some art songs. He is now a published author and the poet laureate of West Hollywood, and an Academy of American Poets fellow. Each of us shared a place, a story, overlapping in intertwining convergence in our individual journeys. Whatever your story is, wherever your journey leads, may it be of your own choosing — always leading with love and courage.
A Journey of Your Own was commissioned by the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Grant Gershon, Kiki and David Gindler Artistic Director. The world premiere was given at the Walt Disney Concert Hall on January 30, 2022.
– Saunder Choi
Text
Look up, call everywhere heaven,
a journey’s a name you can claim as your own.
Journey on, & keep crossing oceans
— an ocean’s a mirror: no happy hereafter,
just the here that you’ve sown.
A journey of your own.
Journey on, & keep crossing oceans
— an ocean’s a mirror. Search for somewhere
to name as your own. Look ahead,
call everywhere heaven: no happy hereafter,
just the here that you’ve grown.
A journey of your own.
-Brian Sonia-Wallace
ang lahat ay paroroon at paririto
tungo sa kung saan
patungo, sa dulo;
ang paglalakbay ay paghahanap,
paghahanap ng hangganan —
paghahanap ng hangganan
ng paglalakbay, ng paghahanap;
pagdating sa dulo: muli,
ang lahat ay paroroon at paririto.
-Joey Vargas
Translation:
every one comes and goes
going to wherever
one goes, to the end;
the journey is a search,
a search for a destination —
a search for a destination
of the journey, of the search;
reaching the end: again,
every one comes and goes.
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