Save Me, O God was commissioned for the Texas Christian University Concert Chorale, directed by Dr. Christopher Aspaas, for their 2023 Texas Music Educators Association Convention and American Choral Directors Association Conference performances. This piece was written as the concert-opener for their moving and poignant program entitled “Hands.“

In summer of 2020, Dr. Aspaas reached out to me with a proposal to write a piece that could be used to open TCU’s performance at the 2021 ACDA Convention in Dallas should TCU be invited. However, plans fell apart and the conference was moved to a virtual format due to the ongoing pandemic, so we put this idea on hold until we received another opportunity for the 2023 season.

This piece captures emotions and ideas that I had not previously explored in my other works. Being the great mentor that he is, Dr. Aspaas challenged me to break away from my comfort zone and write something raw and full of anguish. He suggested that I look to the Psalms for inspiration, and the Psalm text “Save me, O God for the waters have come in unto my soul“ spoke to me. I wanted to capture feelings of hopelessness and despair, feelings of deep sorrow and woe, and the psalm text allowed me to explore these emotions.

Because this piece was specifically written to open the TCU concert program, I stole ideas and motives from a selection that would be sung at the mid-point of the program. This piece is “Hear My Prayer“ by Dr. Aspaas which created a nice bookend to the first set since the texts contain similar cries for help. The final chord matches that of “Hear My Prayer,“ and the main motive of Dr. Aspaas’s is sprinkled throughout my piece in order to create a sense of cohesion to the program.