Commissioned by Chorus America for the Boston Children's Chorus in memory of the first anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing. Berry's text describes the uncertainty of the human condition that can be felt in our violent contemporary times, and the fear of the world that our children will inherit and is interpreted in the music through a complex texture with free tonalities. In the years since the composition was first written, during which an untold number of violent acts have gripped our headlines, The Peace of Wild Things has become a memorial against all violence in our society.