I Hear America Singing

Abstract

I Hear America Singing uses as text a poem with the same title by Walt Whitman from his collection, Leaves of Grass. It was commissioned by the Philadelphia Boys Choir and premiered by the group at the Philadelphia Music Academy on June 6th, 1985. The work was also selected after a competition for a Reading-performance at a festival by the Dale Warland Singers in Minneapolis. It is in ABA form, and uses sound effects derived from the Children’s story, Tikki tikki Tembo. The middle section contains echoes of the nursery rhyme Rock-a-bye Baby. Children’s material was deliberately employed for this piece because it was written and dedicated to children performers.