Longest Night was written at a time when I was feeling pummeled by hate – not directed at me personally, but with a seemingly relentless pervasiveness. It felt as though everything and everyone I cared about was under siege. National parks and even our own Minnesota North Shore in environmental peril; stories of more young people being bullied into death by suicide; misogyny splattered all over the media; a young lesbian couple savagely beaten and left for dead while hiking; and various forms of discrimination in danger of being written into our very state constitution.

After attending some gatherings of people committed to fighting for justice and dignity for all people, I was reminded that it’s those very forces of destruction that show us the light, the strength, and the hope that can bring us together and guide us in a spirit of love, in spite of the darkness. In Longest Night, it’s the destructive winds themselves that blow away the clouds to reveal the light of the moon.

I am extremely honored that Longest Night was the winner of the 2012 Mary Bussman Emerging Female Composer Choral Competition, sponsored by the Twin Cities Women’s Choir.

THE SCORE: SSAA, a cappella, with occasional divisi. Described as “luminous” and full of tight, ethereal harmonies and soaring phrases. 

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LISTEN:

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