America Song

Program Note Any time I have studied the history of art and music, composers and artists who used their art to react to social and political issues has given me cause to stop and reflect. I never felt the drive and impetus to bring such issues into my music: my music was music and my views on external issues were something different. This changed in December of 2016 when I sat down for a cup of coffee with my friend and fantastically talented poet David Yezzi. He and I had been musing on a collaboration that would reflect on the ideas of modern Americana. During our conversation, we continued to come back to the same shared thought. Through the 2016 elections in America, our society seemed to lurch outwards, with opposing political sides moving further apart from one another. David and I saw ourselves standing frustratedly in the middle, seeing both the pros and cons of either side and longing for everyone to see the middle ground; a mutually beneficial compromise that really coul