$70
Duration: approx. 6 min.
Instrumentation: Piano, Cello, and Soprano Voice
Commission/Dedication: This work is made possible through the 2022 Hearing in Color Young Composer Residency Written for, commissioned, and premiered by the Music Institute of Chicago as part of their annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Concert…for MLK
Program Notes:
This piece is dedicated to the great Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a force of nature who fought against all odds for people of color like me, and whose dream we aim to uphold until the end of time. The words "a stone of hope" in the title is a reference to one of King's fourteen quotes engraved on the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial in Washington, D.C. that reads:
"Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope."
This quote and the following are used as the text for this work:
"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."
"We must come to see that the end we seek is a society at peace with itself, a society that can live with
its conscience."
"True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice."
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can
do that."
"We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."
I hope you enjoy this work as much as I had fun writing it! Special thanks to the Music Institute of
Chicago for providing me with the wonderful opportunity to honor someone I care deeply about, and many thanks to Hearing in Color for their help in making this happen and partaking in
nurturing my composing career.
Press:
https://www.cityofevanston.org/Home/Components/News/News/5882/249
https://www.musicinst.org/events/dr-martin-luther-king-jr-celebration