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About the Composer
Timothy C. Takach
Timothy C. Takach Publications
Amplify (SATB)
Social justice, superhero style.
SATB, piano
“Amplify” looks at the responsibility of social justice through the eyes of a new superhero. Through a licensing deal with NPR’s podcast Planet Money, Takach has written an accessible and powerful piece on what it means to listen to and amplify other voices. Hagen’s text uses material and ideas from Planet Money’s first comic book, and the music is filled with musical theater and pop influences.
Composer’s Notes
Gather round friends, it’s story time.
I’m a regular listener to NPR’s podcast Planet Money. I like digging into the economics of different corners of society. Those folks are informative, fun, and pretty geeky at times.
In 2021 when they ran a series of episodes on creating their own superhero from a public domain character, I was intrigued. Over the course of three episodes, Micro-Face was born. I wrote in to pitch them an idea for licensing the character and comic book content for a new piece of music. Over a Zoom call and a long chain of emails between the hosts Kenny Malone and Robert Smith, and other folks at NPR, the idea took flight. You can hear my pitch on the April 30, 2021 episode “A Superhero Goes to Hollywood.”
I asked composer Jocelyn Hagen to write the lyrics for the piece. After reading an early draft of the comic book’s first issue, I gave her an elevator pitch of what I thought the piece could be about. Micro-Face wears a helmet that not only allows him to amplify and throw his voice, but also gives him super hearing. It seemed that someone with the power to both hear and amplify unheard stories and voices could fight really well for social justice, so that’s the direction we took. The opening line “A smart man once told me to speak up when I was told to be quiet” is a direct quote from the comic.
AMPLIFY exists in this SATB + piano version as well as a Vocal/Piano/Chords score.
– Timothy C. Takach, 2021
Text
A smart man once told me to speak up
when I was told to be quiet.
My own friends, their stories went unsung
I didn’t know how to fight it.
The timid, the shy,
the hurt, the left behind.
Push aside your comfort,
Draw in your breath…
If you don’t listen
I’m gonna get louder.
If you don’t listen
I’m gonna get louder.
Speaking up for those
with lives so much harder –
it’s time to be an ally.
Stand up, lift your face high,
let’s hear the war cry!
I hear your story and I won’t stand by
’cause I can amplify! Amplify! I can amplify!
We’ll find words that echo our ideals
And tune out those who ignore us.
We’ll gain ground by digging in our heels
And add your voice to the chorus.
They can’t help but hear
Our thoughts, we’re loud and clear.
Push aside your comfort,
Draw in your breath…
– Jocleyn Hagen, used with permission
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