Snow (2015)

for SATB choir

I took my first music theory class as a high school junior; “Snow” was my final project. Although I hadn’t imagined having it performed, my choir director at the time liked the piece enough to premiere it at our winter concert. Music had always meant the world to me, but after “Snow,” I was hooked on writing. It was my first “real” piece — the first stepping-stone of my composition career.

Original text

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When snow falls, it lingers / and drifts through empty sky, / whirling round the heavy treetops, / looking down as it flies.

And when the sun sets far away, / frozen silence comes to stay. / And the warmth of the sun fades with the light. / Frost once again falls with the night.

When snow falls, it’s carried / upon the winter wind, / weaving past the bending branches, / flying fast round again.

The snow is unrelenting, / but the night has come to pass. / The dawn brings golden sunlight, / and the blizzard ends at last.

The snow can’t fly forever, / so down it falls.