This piece was commissioned by Dr. Steven Zielke, Director of Choirs at Oregon State University, to honor the retirement of Russ Christensen, a Grammy award-winning educator who served as the director of the OSU Meistersingers for over a decade following a hugely successful 30-year public school teaching career in Oregon.  Russ was a mentor and inspiration to me while I was a student at OSU, and it was an honor to offer this piece as a thank-you for his legacy.

To Be Sung On The Water by Louise Bogan

Beautiful, my delight,
Pass, as we pass the wave.
Pass, as the mottled night
Leaves what it cannot save,
Scattering dark and bright.

Beautiful, pass and be
Less than the guiltless shade
To which our vows were said;
Less than the sound of the oar
To which our vows were made, -
Less than the sound of its blade
Dipping the stream once more.