celebramos (1998)

about the work

Celebramos was written at the request of my colleague John Augenblick, director of the Florida International University Concert Choir.  The request was for a work for female voices that advanced high school and university choirs could perform although as it turned out the work was not as simple to perform as I originally thought it would be.

The utilization of more relatively referential (consonant material) presented in a less referential (static) context has been a recent interest and has expanded the harmonic and palette of some of my recent pieces.  In Celebramos, this treatment of relatively consonant material, juxtaposed and presented in a slowly evolving context is a primary concern.

The text for the work written by me is an expression of my personal feelings about the ultimate nature of the human spirit as something to celebrate and strive for.  Celebramos was completed in the spring of 1998 and was later released on Capstone Records.  The work received an award in the New York Treble Singers choral competition.  The vocal ensemble gave the work its New York premiere in March 2002.

Celebramos el espíritu humano y la humanidad
la esencia del ser humano es la belleza
con la reflexión, contemplación, meditación
superamos y conquistamos la esclavitud, persecución y represión
Celebramos el espíritu humano y la humanidad

We celebrate the human spirit and humanity
beauty is the essence of human beings
with reflection, contemplation, and meditation we overcome
and conquer slavery, persecution, and repression
We celebrate the human spirit and humanity