Breathe in Hope | SSAA, TTBB, or SATB Chorus & Piano | 6.5'
Maya Jackson's text for Breathe in Hope began as two Facebook posts responding to the violent deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling. Reading Maya's words, I was drawn to her call for action and reached out for Maya's permission to set her words to music.
When confronted with tragedy, we may instinctively search for hope and healing. In the face of violent injustice, though, maybe the hope we seek can only be found when we recognize our own accountability and ask what actions we can take to create lasting change.
Breathe in Hope was commissioned by the Los Angeles Children's Chorus, Anne Tomlinson, Artistic Director, for the 2017 Chorus America Conference.
Purchase this score for SSAA, TTBB, or SATB on Graphite Marketplace.
TEXT
What would we do if we didn't have the privilege of being distracted
I know we must honor our personal lives.
I know we must not live in darkness.
I know we must celebrate the grace in our humanity.
To keep our lungs from collapsing.
We must breathe in hope.
And so have I. Taken in joy. And beauty. And selfishness. And frivolity. And laughter. We are wonderful. Humans. We find the light.
But I fear the moment passing.
Already distracted from the fire though the smoke is still filling our lungs.
This is going to sound wrong.
But I hope this pain lasts.
I hope that it holds.
I don't want to heal
just yet.
We have become experts at recovery.
I hope we become expert at Revolution.
—Maya Jackson
