SATB + piano
Editor’s Choice, J.W. Pepper

NOTE FROM THE COMPOSER

I combined the writings of three different pivotal figures in the arts/humanities to form the text for this work – Hildegard von Bingen, Rudi, and Kahlil Gebran.  Their lives and words have made a hugely positive impact on the world.  Though born centuries apart and from very different parts of the world, each one struggled to change their existence from “what is” to their essence “what ought to be.”  Their words in this work, The Skipping Stone, are not stated in formal poetic fashion, but rather are quotes. In the words of Kahlil Gebran, “Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to yours by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you, but by the way your mind looks at what happens.”

The Skipping Stone (title) comes from the phrase, “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters and create many ripples.”