March 23, 2025
St. Andrew’s Church, Kent CT
James Knox Sutterfield, cond.
Our Spring 2025 concert features the first performance of our commission piece, “The Gift to Sing,” by composer Jonathan Woody. The idea of a commission project arose from the celebration of our 50th anniversary season in 2022-23. We strongly believe that singing is a gift that enables us to face challenges in our everyday lives — it gives us hope. The poem “The Gift to Sing” by James Weldon Johnson expresses that idea perfectly. Perhaps best known for the lyrics to the song “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” poet and author James Weldon Johnson was also a national organizer for the NAACP. Born in 1871, his works explore racial identity and the African American folk tradition.
We engaged composer Jonathan Woody to set Johnson’s poem to music. We asked him to write the piece for a four-part chorus with piano accompaniment so that it would be accessible for performance by a wide range of choral groups. The structure of the music follows Johnson’s text, alternating between dark and gloomy passages and brighter music accompanying the words “I softly sing… And sing and sing,” building to a peak with the final words, “And I can sing.”
Painting, “Sunset” by Euguene Dalacroix:
Click here for practice aids for I Conquer the World with Words, provided by the Skylark Vocal Ensemble and including an introduction video by composer Jonathan Woody.
Click here for the printed music for The Gift to Sing, our commission piece by Jonathan Woody.
The player below has practice aids for “The Gift to Sing” and other songs:
- Rehearsal run-through on March 19, 2024
- Synthesized audio performance (provided by Jonathan Woody)
- Slowed versions of “I Conquer the World with Words” (Skylark Vocal Ensemble) and “The Choir Invisible” (2009 ACDA High School Honor Choir)
- Rehearsal – Wednesday, March 19, 2024 (part 1)
- Rehearsal – Wednesday, March 19, 2024 (part 2)
- Dress Rehearsal – Saturday, March 22, 2025 (part 1)
- Dress Rehearsal – Saturday, March 22, 2025 (part 2)
Note: Click blue “Sign In” button if it appears in Google player. Click “Play Anyway” if virus scan message appears.
Here is a player for dress rehearsal run-throughs in concert order:
This player has edited versions of two songs:
- Bright Morning Stars: 3:22 to 4:45 from dress rehearsal
- Arise, Beloved: final Arise from dress rehearsal
The original, unedited versions of these songs are available in the download folder below (tracks 15 and 16). The video soundtrack also has the unedited versions.