shalom!

My composition, Shalom!, was one of the two Grand Prize winners in Chanticleer’s Student Composer Competition. The piece was chosen as a winner out of nearly seventy submissions from around the world. At 18, I was the youngest winner of the prestigious competition and the only high schooler to ever win. It was premiered at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco by 300 high school students from across the United States as part of the Chanticleer National Youth Choral Festival in March 2015. 

In 2016, Shalom! was published by Hinshaw Music, Inc. as part of the Chanticleer Choral Series. 

You can purchase the sheet music here.

PROGRAM NOTES

Shalom! is a new setting of two Jewish folksongs: “Shalom Chaverim" and "Hevenu Shalom Aleichem". I chose these two songs because they both carry messages of peace, which I believe is especially important in this chaotic time. The Hebrew word "shalom" (which directly translates to "peace") is the centerpiece of the composition, and both songs are woven together to emphasize this message. Shalom! begins with fragments of the melody of "Shalom Chaverim," which eventually crescendos to a roaring declaration of the melody by the treble voices. The treble voices then fade to a hum as the tenors and basses sing the melody in a traditional round. The second folksong, "Hevenu Shalom Aleichem," begins slowly and gradually speeds up to a raucous dance tempo. As the dance progresses, the melody of "Shalom Chaverim" re-enters and the themes of both folksongs ricochet off of one another.