We Listen
| YEAR: | 2017 |
| DURATION: | 6 minutes |
| CATEGORY: | Choral |
| INSTRUMENTATION: | SATB |
| PREMIERE: | July 23, 2017 Big Sky Choral Initiative Conductor // Donald Nally |
| TEXT: | Anastasia Sistevaris |
| COMMISSION: | Big Sky Choral Initiative |
Program Note:
“Arts are representative of the era from which they come.”
-Roy Berko, PhD
It is the responsibility of the artist to listen to the world with discerning ears and capture moments in history so that they may be translated into and communicated through art. Music is a way to understand people and emotions, events and reactions, dreams and experiences. Many musicians choose to become musicians because it is their way of making sense of the world. When a piece of music is performed, the ideas, emotions, experiences, and lessons behind those notes take on a new shape, and every time that the music is sung or played, those ideas are reborn. It is the artists’ responsibility to create beautiful art out of the things that happen to or around him/her. It is the artists’ job to do or say something in a way that hasn’t been said or done before. And most importantly, it is the artists’ duty to listen.
We Listen
the farthest reach from the sun still holds a trace of light.
she is the effervescent watchtower who guides our wary flight.
there is no harmony in love’s division, but with empathy, we listen
so that we may create
the poet’s songs and artist’s dreams
to build the brilliant tapestry of earth’s interwoven energies.
- Anastasia Sistevaris