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About the Composer
Ellen Gilson Voth
Graphite Publishing
Standing Tall (SATB)
Tomorrow is always a new and different day.
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Standing Tall
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Standing Tall
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Standing Tall
SATB choir and piano
“Standing Tall” prompts vital conversation about the fresh start each day offers; the need for deep roots to withstand seasons of promise and of struggle in our lives, often in the order we least expect; and the beauty and inherent worth of every person.
Winner of the 2022 ACDA Pearl Prize!
Composer’s Notes
“Standing Tall” was composed in response to an invitation by Dr. Jennifer Kane, Conductor of the Handel and Haydn Society Youth Chorale (Boston, Massachusetts). When Jennifer asked me to compose a piece following the unexpected passing of a family friend of hers, Alexandra Valoras (2000-2018), I was both honored and humbled by her request. From the start I knew the challenge would lie in crafting a piece to reflect Alexandra’s life and potential, and be an edifying experience for singers who did not know Alexandra, as they would learn and premiere the piece. The music needed to be simple and eloquent– welcoming singers coming to understand loss and the ways we can show compassion and confidence in life’s value.
Near the Valoras’ home in Grafton, Massachusetts stands an apple tree; in a family blog post, Alexandra’s father described his memories of the tree with Alexandra in years past. In creating text for this piece, I decided to ptortray four seasons as seen in the tree; in the second stanza, the tree becomes a metaphor for Alexandra, with the word “you” in place of her name. Dr. Kane and I invited singers from the Youth Chorale to write affirming statements they might share with someone struggling with their self- worth; several of those statements were layered as descant in the second half of the piece.
Wherever performed, we hope “Standing Tall” prompts vital conversation about the fresh start each day offers; the need for deep roots to withstand seasons of promise and of struggle in our lives, often in the order we least expect; and the beauty and inherent worth of every person.
– Ellen Gilson Voth
Text
I see your buds in springtime,
The fruit you share in summer,
Standing tall against the sky, making a mark on the world.
I see the snow that graces you in winter,
The golden leaves you wear in fall.
You may feel bare branches weighing toward the ground,
Yet I know your strength within.
Your blossoms may fade,
Your leaves may be swept away,
But your roots are strong and your beauty lives on.
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We treasure you in springtime
And in the warmth of summer.
We share the loneliness you feel in winter
And in the fading light of fall.
Seasons come and seasons go,
Yet we will always see you standing tall,
Come summer, winter, spring or fall,
Making your mark,
Your beautiful mark on the world.
There is no one in the world like you.
We are better people with you in the world.
Think of those you cherish
And those that cherish you.
You touch our lives in ways you don’t even know.
Tomorrow is always a new and different day.
– Ellen Gilson Voth and singers from Handel and Haydn Society Youth Choruses
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