"Every Piece of Me" for Choir + Violoncello + Piano

Programme Note:

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I started to compose “Every Piece of Me” before quarantine with this Walt Whitman quote provided by my commissioner, Jesuit Choir Director Ms. Kristen Caldwell:

 

“I celebrate myself, and sing myself,

And what I assume you shall assume,

For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.”

–Song of Myself, Verse I

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I had to write a piece of music—a piece of myself—to break down the distance between us. And so, I finished composing “Every Piece of Me” after the 2020 pandemic shutdown.

   

When challenges pushed everyone in the world apart, I needed to remind myself; the distance we put between ourselves—is only temporary. The entire universe is one large continuity, always extending its arms around us and forever linking us together as a family. “Every Piece of Me.” “Every Piece of You.” Connected, together.

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This is a song about breaking down distances to find a shared humanity. 

I'm grateful to be an alum of Jesuit High School, Portland. 

 

Performance History:

 

Jesuit High School

• Date: 29 October 2020

• Location: Portland, Oregon, US

• Performers: The Jesuit High School Chamber Choir, dir. Kristen Caldwell, cellist Kyle Lockwood, and pianist Jennifer Creek Hughes