A composer shares sonic imagination and strength with choral music for the U.S. General Election on November 3, 2020.
With the upcoming U.S. Congressional and Presidential Election on November 3, 2020, I collaborate with writer Aaron Jafferis, music director and audio/video editor Stephanie Tubiolo, and rappers and singers from around the United States on “We Are the Ones (Vote).” The music provides a tribute to youth affected by violence who are not able to vote, yet their lives are affected. It is also a call to action for those who are able to participate.
Lyrics and Music
This a cappella choral work includes four soloists, beatboxer, and choir. It starts with the question: “Who? Who…
A composer reflects on distanced mourning and violence prevention during the COVID-19 Pandemic, by remembering the April 16th mass shooting tragedy at Virginia Tech through song.
There was a time before physical separation and virtual funerals where people gathered together in silence. I remember being shoulder-to-shoulder, in the midst of thousands of individuals, holding candles at midnight, standing in silence for 32 minutes on the Drillfield at Virginia Tech. This yearly memorial honors the faculty and students who lost their lives in a mass school shooting that happened on April 16, 2007.¹ I co-created a musical work to respond to the tragedy of gun violence, by bringing people from isolation to belonging. The lyrics to the opening of the show are:
What if young people could…
Byron Au Yong
composer and educator who writes songs of dislocation, music for a changing world
