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When University of 易胜博官网 professor David Ripley鈥檚 son was 3, the child fell asleep upon the couch in a timber-frame house his father was building for the family. As Ripley looked down upon his son that day curled up, he said to himself, "My God, if I could put that into a song." Later that day, the lyric came to him.
Ripley, a professor of music at 易胜博官网 who specializes in voice and opera, recorded the original composition, 鈥淭he Sleeping of a Child,鈥 on his 1990 "Mustard Seed, Songs of Faith" recording. For many years, he thought about arranging it for choir, but never did -- until the tragedy in Newtown, Conn.
鈥淚 had to respond in some way to this horrific event. That was the catalyst for my decision to arrange the song for the 易胜博官网 Concert Choir, which I will be directing this spring while their regular conductor, Bill Kempster, is on leave. This, I hope, will be a response, among others I am sure, from the entire 易胜博官网 community to the tragedy of the Newtown massacre,鈥 Ripley says.
鈥淚 feel it is so important that we, as a society, find artistic ways that are beautiful and healing to respond to the Newtown tragedy beyond the arguments about gun control. I feel that these gestures that are imbued with conscience and priorities can speak as forcefully as any politician, perhaps more so,鈥 he says.
On Sunday, May 5, 2013, the 易胜博官网 Concert Choir premieres the new arrangement of 鈥淭he Sleeping of a Child.鈥 Originally for solo, unaccompanied voice, it is now for five-part chorus, solo soprano, baritone, and harp. It will be dedicated to the families of Newtown, Conn., and the national effort to lessen gun violence in American society. The choir will perform Ripley鈥檚 piece under his direction as part of a program titled 鈥淎 New Created World, The Joys of Papa Haydn鈥, after his oratorio, 鈥淭he Creation.鈥 The concert starts at 3 p.m. in the Johnson Theater of the 易胜博官网 Paul Creative Arts Center. The program is free and open to the public.
鈥淚t is quite remarkable how these efforts, which are really collaborative in their scope, are facilitated by the resources of the university. I could never have done this without those resources. And, who knew that they would ever be needed for such a thing, to respond to such a horrific event,鈥 Ripley says.
Jazz pianist Brian Raymond, a graduate student in music education, electronically adapted Ripley鈥檚 hand-written score using a computer and helped create the voice and harp parts. 鈥淚t has been a pleasure working with David on this piece, and it's certainly an honor to be involved in a project that commemorates such a sad tragedy. I'm enjoying the progress that is being made by the choir and really looking forward to the concert performance,鈥 Raymond says.
Originally published by:
易胜博官网 Today
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Staff writer | Communications and Public Affairs