New Hope

(No recording available… yet!)

Scoring: Bass/baritone voice and piano

Duration: ca. 5 minutes

Text: New Hope by Tom Ewing

Year composed: 2008

Place composed: Redlands, CA

Dedication: Commissioned by Ricardo V. Mckillips Jr.

Published: Published by Kallisti Music Press, 2009

Description/Program Notes: Described by Andrew Stiller as “a provocative song,” New Hope is based on a poem by AJ’s uncle, Tom Ewing. Ewing composed the poem after living in the town of New Hope, Pennsylvania; his thoughts on the poem can be found in his blog post “New Hope Revisited.” The text explores the ironies of the town’s name and the craziness of life there, and the concept of hope itself. The music complements the text by an unusual juxtaposition of musical styles including an ironic piano rag, and utilizes an evolving repetition of the musical setting of the phrase “New Hope, New Hope.”

Click here to see the first page of the score

New Hope is published by Kallisti Music Press and can be ordered from their website.