Romans 12

Originally called hokku, the familiar three-line verse began as the opening of a group improvisation called renga which evolved in Japan in the middle ages. Often creating spontaneously, one poet would

"American Death Ballads was composed especially for tenor Brian Thorsett and premiered by him at the San Francisco Conservatory, November 1, 2015, with pianist John Churchwell, and at the National

Although the texts are adapted from poems by the Indiana poet James Whitcomb Riley (1849-1916), the poet's intent, imagery, cadence, and the soulful message remain intact. The composer's wish is that these

Jessie Anderson Chase's short story The Old Things, one of 81 prizewinners in the collection Short Stories from Life, is the basis for this libretto of the same name. The author poetically

The texts for these songs are adapted from Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914), one of America’s most fearless and biting satirists. It is safe to say that these songs are probably not for every performer.

This text was adapted from Mark Twain's The War Prayer, which he wrote in 1904-5 to protest America’s involvement in the Spanish-American War. His family convinced him to keep if from