Why Earth Song?
“Sing, Be, Live, See…”
For as long as I can remember I have found words fascinating. Reading them? Love it. Writing them? Yes, please. Learning new vocabulary? Why, yes, I would write down words I didn’t know as a child and regularly look them up in the dictionary. I got a dictionary as a gift once. And I loved it. I still have it.
The other thing about words is they all evolved from something else. Some previous word. Some other language. Everything came from somewhere and we only know that because someone, once upon a time, decided words meant something. Like meant more than something. Meant something so much we needed to remember them for ages to come.
What came first: Learning my name, Terra, is the Latin word for Earth, or my obsession with Mythology as a child? A real chicken or the egg scenario!
Earth, Gaia, Terra.
I took great comfort in knowing my name meant earth. That it was associated with Mother Earth, from whom all life sprung. Solid. Firm. Reliable. Important.
“…This dark stormy hour, The wind, it stirs. The scorched earth cries out in vain.”
Words have power. And their power, I learned, is only increased when paired with music. Music alone is also powerful, but when they are joined together, they can reach deep inside of you and…and…you become speechless.
“O war and power, you blind and blur. The torn heart cries out in pain.”
Being overcome. Feeling “it” is one of the most powerful experiences a person can have. I first experienced it with a choir. Occasionally I can feel it performing solo, but it is always enhanced when it is a communal musical performance. “It” was the reason I became a devotee of choir. Music, always, but choir, especially.
“But music and singing have been my refuge, and music and singing shall be my light.”
Music has always been my refuge. I have always found light in the darkness through music. In August of 2023 I learned a friend was interested in starting a semi-professional choir. After years of being a choir director, but desperately missing singing in one, I knew I had to join. Our first concert: just a bunch of our favorites. Of course there were too many to choose from, but they were narrowed down to our set list.
One of those songs was a favorite, but not one that had come to mind when I was making my own list. “Earth Song” by Frank Ticheli. A song I had heard many times, a song I loved, but I had never had the chance to sing. But then I did. And it was one of those songs that digs deep down inside of you to live forever.
“A light of song shining strong: Alleluia! Through darkness, pain and strife I’ll Sing, Be, Live, See…”
Little did I know, when I first put that octavo in my folder, how important these words would become. I was less than two months away from a bomb exploding life as I knew it (more on that later, I promise…it will require its own post). Singing this piece of music would end up meaning so much more to me than some pretty chords. I just had no idea yet.
Terra. Earth.
It seemed more natural than anything that when I finally decided to take the leap and start this business than Earth Song would have to be involved somehow. And what did I want to share, more than anything with the world? Song. Music. That has always been my mission. And out of the tumult and strife, confusion and chaos, this song brought me…
“Peace.” - Frank Ticheli
And that is how Earth Song Studio, LLC came to be. That is why Earth Song.
Voces8 is probably the first professional choral ensemble I saw, in concert, at my very first ICDA summer symposium after my 1st year of teaching. I still remember the incredible feeling of awe I experienced watching them in concert! Enjoy!
