Description
Published by Graphite Publishing.
To See the Sky is a deeply personal and heartfelt choral work composed in memory of Dr. Amy Adele Foster—a beloved choral director, mentor, and pianist whose artistry and spirit left a lasting impression on all who knew her. The piece sets a poignant and reflective poem by Sara Teasdale, which traces a journey of loss, awakening, and newfound clarity.
At the core of this piece is the piano—a voice that does not merely accompany but speaks, sings, and ultimately soars. In a rare departure from traditional choral structure, the climax of the work belongs not to the choir, but to the piano alone. This choice was made to honor Amy’s brilliance as a collaborative pianist, recognizing the quiet power and emotional depth that pianists bring to ensemble music-making. As a fellow pianist, I wept while composing that passage—thinking of all the hours spent behind the keyboard, listening, shaping, breathing with the singers. In giving the piano this moment, I hoped to echo Amy’s own musical legacy: one of beauty, strength, and selfless artistry.
Teasdale’s poem reflects Amy’s journey with grace—acknowledging loss, yet ultimately lifting its gaze to the stars. To See the Sky is both a lament and a hymn of gratitude, grounded in the earth and reaching upward, as Amy did in her life and music.
Performed by The First Readings Project, J. David Moore, conductor
Text
One by one, like leaves from a tree,
All my faiths have forsaken me;
But the stars above my head
Burn in white and delicate red,
And beneath my feet the earth
Brings the sturdy grass to birth.
I who was content to be
But a silken-singing tree,
But a rustle of delight
In the wistful heart of night,
I have lost the leaves that knew
Touch of rain and weight of dew.
Blinded by a leafy crown
I looked neither up nor down—
But the little leaves that die
Have left me room to see the sky;
Now for the first time I know
Stars above and earth below.
– Sara Teasdale