I Will Sing is a choral arrangement of an art song I wrote during my junior year in college. In 2019, I collaborated with my friend Allyson Romero on that art song for her senior recital at Texas Christian University. She told me she wanted something new and something exciting, and she said Sara Teasdale’s “Joy” would be the perfect text to set. I have known this text for quite some time, and I was thrilled to have an opportunity to write music to it.

The piece oscillates between G major and E♭ major. Like many, I associate different keys  with different moods, feelings, or emotions; I think each key area has the ability to create an entirely different atmosphere to a piece. To me, G major is very bright and confident. It is optimistic and exciting. Therefore, I chose to start the piece in G major, but I move to E♭ major during the words “I love and I am loved.” To me, the key of E♭ major is comforting and has warmth to it, so I matched this mood with the comforting feeling of being loved and appreciated. The piece travels back and forth between these two keys depending on the text that is being sung. A great concert closer, this piece is an outburst of joy.