Looking for Light

From the Composer:
When director, Suzanne Fulton, reached out to me, it was at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. I knew I was feeling a great deal of loss. Chances were that Suzanne and her students were feeling the same. I was right.

I began by introducing myself to them via Zoom as they stared back through many tiny boxes on my computer screen – separated by almost 5,000 miles but connected by a common loss and a love of music. My goal was to help them believe that everyone can compose and to inspire them to do so, but to also create a space where they could express what was truly in their hearts and on their minds. As you can imagine, they were all feeling sadness over the isolation, loss of normalcy in their high-school experience, and over the impossibility of singing together safely in one space. As I asked them to share, they began to enter their thoughts and feelings into the chat box. Poetry began to take form and I asked for volunteers to sing their ideas. They sang these ideas with such heart as their teacher guided and encouraged them. Through their suffering, they collectively realized that they had the courage to hope, to dream, and to “…look for the light in the shadows.” I have many favorite lines from this poetry, but one of my favorites speaks to anyone enduring suffering – especially
collective suffering: “…and we’ll find our way, and tomorrow will be our time.” These young women inspired me to hope for a better tomorrow. I know they will inspire you as well.

As you share this work with your singers, I’d like to call your attention to an important idea that can be beautifully conveyed with attention to dynamics in the last section of the piece. The choir felt that we should make a declarative statement about what we believe and how we plan to move forward – past the suffering and into a hopeful future. They sang, “This is where the hurting ends. This is where the joy begins.” Following this statement, we wanted the raw emotion of the piece to shine. We decided to finish without text. The “ah” section begins at a piano dynamic and swells as the parts weave in and out. Each section builds on this idea and repeats – each time at a louder dynamic – until finally, the piece resolves at a fortissimo dynamic and in G major.

My huge thanks to Suzanne Fulton for her vision, leadership, friendship, and trust in me, to Mark Burleson for his friendship, artistry, and interpretation of the piano accompaniment, to Hey-Jung Choi for playing this piece so beautifully in rehearsal and performance, and to the students for the courage to not only express their fears, but to break through them in song. You have ALL inspired me! Dream on!

– Sherry Blevins

From the Commissioner :
Ring the bells that still can ring Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything That’s how the light gets in.
– Leonard Cohen, from “Anthem”

One of my favorite quotes is the Leonard Cohen quote that inspired this piece: “There’s a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” During the start of the pandemic, my students and I were lucky enough to find “light” in our classes together when we joined with Sherry Blevins to co-create the text and some melodic shapes for this piece that Sherry went on to compose for us. The powerful wordless ending of this composition provides a chance for both singers and audience to reflect and consider how each new moment may be “where the joy begins.” We hope choirs everywhere will enjoy this special piece.

– Suzanne Fulton, Director of West Vancouver Schools’ Senior Treble Honour Choir