Faith Brown, student conductor

Frank Ticheli is an American composer, creating over ninety works in total for choral, chamber, orchestral, wind ensemble, and concert band genres. Dr. Ticheli recently retired from his position as the Professor of Composition at the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music – a post he held since 1991. His works for orchestra have been played by many world-renowned ensembles and his choral and concert band compositions have become standards in the repertoire.

Derived from one of Ticheli’s longer works for concert band, Earth Song was composed in 2007 for SATB octavo before being adapted for concert band in 2012. The lyrics that accompany the choral version were penned by Ticheli himself:

Sing, Be, Live, See.

This dark stormy hour,

The wind, it stirs.

The scorched earth

Cries out in vain:

O war and power,

You blind and blur,

The torn heart

Cries out in pain.

But music and singing

Have been my refuge,

And music and singing

Shall be my light.

A light of song

Shining Strong: Alleluia!

Through darkness, pain, and strife, I’ll

Sing, Be, Live, See…

Peace.

Four swells begin the piece, each of which is aligned with a word from the opening text: Sing, Be, Live, See. These gestures give way to a noble melody that soars over peaceful harmonies filled with dynamic contrast. Introduced by the clarinets, delicate and tender offerings further develop the work as the shimmering timbre of flutes respond in kind. The piece then features a restatement of the main melody, which is presented stronger than the beginning. The clarinets, again, lead the ensemble, this time to a resolute conclusion. Ticheli offers that this work is, “A cry for peace in a world torn by war.”

Program note and composer biography researched and written by Faith Brown