Los Angeles, CA/Jackson, Mississippi & Chattanooga, TN
This offering stemmed from a project in which we worked on taking elements from the current national anthem to form an anthem or call for peace. We should be listening to one another and taking the sufferings of others into account. We really have to start looking out for one another and help to change systems that oppress certain groups and combat hate directly.
I love this song that Tiffany and I wrote during a residency at Avaloch Farms in New Hampshire in 2019. It’s always so rewarding to create a song alongside a vocalist who shares my passion for songwriting and social justice. The inspiration came from the American national anthem, which I’ve always felt was not singable nor particularly relevant. From the jumping-off point of the first line, we took our song in a very different direction, fueled by the injustices of our current culture and our vision for a better America.
PEACE BUILDER BIOGRAPHY
A native of Jackson, Mississippi, soprano Tiffany Townsend started the 2019/20 season as Princess Ninette in Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges with Opera Philadelphia. In February 2020, she appeared with Long Beach Opera in the Dream Variation concert. She holds a Professional Studies Certificate in Opera from the Curtis Institute of Music, a Master of Music from The Juilliard School, and a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Millsaps College. She is a current member of the Young Artist Program at LA Opera.
Tim Hinck is a composer, pianist, and a former Fulbright Scholar to the Netherlands. His musical compositions have been presented across the country and abroad in Spain and the Netherlands. Hinck scored the Emmy award-winning documentary “From the Streets to the Stage” and his compositions have recently been performed by the Chattanooga Symphony, the Ann Arbor Symphony, and at the Juilliard school; his opera Eve Apart premiered in Pittsburgh, PA in 2015.
DAILY PEACE ACTION
Go Vote and if you can encourage others to do the same!
Have those tough but necessary conversations with friends, family, and people that you encounter about matters of justice. We should also be speaking out about dismantling systems of oppression.
My call to action is a challenge of creation: While it may seem simplistic or ineffective to ask someone to create something simply for the act of creating, I believe in the power that composition has to instigate real, physical change in the creator’s life. Write a poem, a goal, or simply a well-crafted sentence that sums up what you feel should change in your world, your circle, or yourself. Not just putting it to paper, but focusing on good craftsmanship can focus your attention on your concept of humanity long after the lines are penned.