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Several years ago, while I was on the faculty at NYU, Elaine Gates, professor of choral music commissioned me to write a piece for her children’s choir at USDAN, where she was also the director of choral music. USDAN is a summer camp for the arts located on Long Island, NY. The following is a brief description of the camp:
Usdan opens up a world for children to joyfully express their creativity and develop their artistic skills.
Each summer, we bring professional teachers and artists—actors, directors, playwrights, painters, sculptors, musicians, composers, dancers, poets, and novelists—to teach and collaborate with our campers ages 5 to 18 from Long Island and New York City.
Set on 140 acres of natural beauty, Usdan is a welcoming and inclusive place within which campers have the freedom to build new friendships, explore nature, develop personal independence, and have fun, alongside their art-making.
“In Springtime” is scored for SA and piano. I was given the liberty of choosing the subject matter and writing the words as well as the music. While the piece is not exactly “a walk in the park” vocally and harmonically for young people, their performance was magnificent.
Several sections of the accompaniment are syncopated, and this can cause a bit of difficulty for the singers, but the rhythm is quite effective, as are the soprano “divisi” sections where the harmony becomes three-part.
Who doesn’t love springtime? Perform it joyfully!
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