But Not to Me

Dr. Christina Svec and the Ames Youth Choir were the champions who asked me to write this piece before Dr. Svec left the ensemble. Writing for children's voices was something I was studying with Dr. Svec at the time, and nothing works better to cement knowledge than putting it directly in action. However, I had a narrow window to write the piece, so I turned to one of my favorite poets from the early 20th century- Sarah Teasdale.

Sarah Teasdale led a very stressful and traumatic life and this piece combines three of her poems to make an homage about love unreturned. The three poems are "Twilight," "Less than the Cloud to the Wind," and "But Not to Me." The idea of the freedom of the skies is also present in the poems, and so the idea of the narrator singing to a bird about their dreams is the lens through which this was written.

Written for two-part children's chorus, it is applicable to many different settings and ensemble styles. Two editions are available from JW Pepper- one with flute and one without.

The original performance by the Ames Youth Chorus can be found online at Audio.com.