Hear My Voice

Hear My Voice is a work for middle-level voices with music and text written by Jennifer Higdon. This piece is inspired by the American electoral process, expressing the optimism of youth as each new generation’s voice begins to be heard. It is the perfect piece for early middle-school singers beginning 3-part harmony. The message may be particularly well suited for a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day program.

Pulitzer-Prize winner Jennifer Higdon (b. Brooklyn, NY, December 31, 1962) is one of the most performed living American composers working today. Her list of commissioners ranges from the Cleveland Orchestra to the Philadelphia Orchestra; from eighth blackbird to the Tokyo String Quartet; and from The President's Own Marine Band to such artists as Hilary Hahn. Higdon received the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in Music for her Violin Concerto, with the committee citing Higdon's work as a "deeply engaging piece that combines flowing lyricism with dazzling virtuosity." She has also received awards from the Serge Koussevitzky Foundation, the Guggenheim Foundation, the American Academy of Arts & Letters (two awards), the Pew Fellowship in the Arts, Meet-the-Composer, the National Endowment for the Arts, and ASCAP. In January 2010, Higdon received a GRAMMY for Best Contemporary Classical Composition for her Percussion Concerto. She holds the Rock Chair in Composition at The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.

Hear My Voice was premiered in 2013 by the Children's Choir from the School for Creative and Performing Arts in Cincinnati, Ohio, under the direction of Laurie Wyant.

https://youtu.be/dld62fWsrHc