"Hope" is the thing with feathers

for SAB a cappella choir
Poem by Emily Dickinson

This piece is deeply personal to me.

My life, like everyone’s, has its challenges—one of the greatest being raising a non-verbal autistic son. There are days when the weight of it all feels overwhelming, but it is exactly in those moments that I find hope to be as Emily Dickinson described: something fragile and light, yet unwavering, even in the fiercest storms.

That particular line, "in the gale is heard," was truly at the heart of my composition. It speaks to how hope can sing, even when everything around us feels chaotic and harsh.

I often struggle to express my emotions through words, but music has always been my way to translate what I feel. With this piece, I wanted to capture that delicate balance between vulnerability and resilience.

The Lawrence University Viking Chorale, under the direction of Shannon Gravelle, performs my setting of Emily Dickinson's beautiful poem 'Hope' is the thing with feathers during the Winter Term Concert at the Lawrence Memorial Chapel in Appleton, Wisconsin (USA).