Composer Notes

When Cincinnati Men’s Chorus asked me to compose a song for a concert honoring strong women, the director suggested that the song celebrate the life and spirit of Coretta Scott King. I was excited about the commission but I had no idea how to begin. How could I compose a tribute that would spring directly from my own heart and experience?

Nevertheless I dove right into the project, educating myself about King’s life and words. While this deepened my understanding of the civil rights leader, I was unable to find a wholly authentic way to bring my compositional voice to her work, loss, strength and vision.

One day it occurred to me to call singer and civil rights leader Dorothy Cotton. Years earlier she and I had attended the same church in Ithaca, NY, where we had performed together several times. Dorothy offered to mail me a program from King’s memorial service, at which she had spoken. Not surprisingly, the program itself featured many prominent speakers and musicians. But the program’s insert was somewhat unusual; it contained a piece of writing by Evelyn K. Dudley, King’s caregiver during the last year of her life.

The writing was not about King; in fact it had been written years before the two women ever met. It was Dudley’s own personal testimony and manifesto about faith, hardship, tenacity, service, and courage, written during a particularly difficult period in her life. Her words spoke to the struggle of everyone who carries on despite pain, suffering, and loneliness, be they rich or poor, famous or unsung.

I knew instantly that I had found the perfect text for the song, and the chorus agreed. Crafting Dudley’s words into a song became a labor of love.