A setting of the poem “No Dream Required” by Lexington actor and poet Cliff Blake, for mixed chorus (SATB) with violin, viola, cello and French horn, lasting 12-15 minutes,

The composer on the project: “This piece will add to the list of choral pieces that directly address our ongoing American social justice issues. I have worked with Cliff Blake for a number of years on the Opera UnMet program “The Ties That Bind: A Musical celebration for Martin Luther King Day,” for MLK Day and for other Black History Month presentations. Cliff wrote a poem “Would You” that I set to music in 2019 for solo tenor voice with accompaniment for Violin, Viola, Cello and Horn. That text affirmatively asked whether MLK would still dream his message of peace and hope if he were alive today. We premiered the piece at the Unitarian Universalist Urban Ministry, First Church in Roxbury, on Jan. 20, 2020. I have been hoping to set another poem by Cliff, and his recent work “No Dream Required” is especially welcome given our current political climate.”

“As has been my practice for most of my composing career, I will use referential tonality within the 12-tone system to color my melodies and harmonies. I use traditional melodic thematic devices to create structure in my music. With choral music this must be carefully handled to make the lines singable. The text for this new work is long, and I plan on setting the entire text without significant pauses between sections. While most of the piece will feature homophonic passages for the SATB choir, these will be balanced by occasional section solos split into two/three vocal lines."