My Journey Yours

"My Journey Yours" was originally commissioned by a multi-disciplinary arts project of the same name with Refugee Family Services in Clarkston, Georgia. The work musically represents the refugees' harrowing journey from their homelands through the seemingly unending days, months, and years of surviving in refugee camps, to the challenge of creating a new life as Americans. The first section of the piece features folk melodies and the translated phrase 'my journey, yours' from the native countries and languages represented by the refugees. These musical phrases form a multi-lingual, multi-cultural vocal collage. Improvisation over the collage is encouraged and recommended. Connecting this section to the next are musical phrases in Vietnamese and Somali, calling out the anguish of leaving home and the intense difficulty of the journey. The last section of the piece represents the new home shared by refugees from many lands. It uses a 6/8 Bosnian chord progression, with the words 'my journey yours' sung in English. Once this section is established, vocal improvisation is recommended, allowing individual voices to speak/sing while the group holds the foundation.