There Will Be a Light, Yuav Tsum Muaj Hnub Zoo

We’re back and we’re making music!

I’m so excited about the premiere of this new piece of music titled “There Will Be a Light, Yuav Tsum Muaj Hnub Zoo” written by a former student, Douachi Yang.

Sam Grace, the Artistic Director and Founder of MPLS - imPulse, and I grabbed coffee this summer and talked about the upcoming school year and what we were planning. He asked for names of singer-songwriters I might know and I mentioned a former student named Douachi. While Douachi was at Harding, she was a rockstar. She sang in choir all four years, took IB classes, was choir president, sang for Mayor Carter and was a relentless cheerleader and role model to all who knew her. I was so excited to hear that she had agreed to write a piece for MPLS - imPulse and even more excited to hear that Harding Choir would be a partner in bringing this to life.

One of my goals at Harding is to bring more music in Hmong into the choir program. About 50% of the population at Harding is Hmong, and about 80% of my choir population identifies as Hmong. We’ve had a chance to sing in Hmong a few times, but I was deeply moved by the piece that Douachi wrote for us and the fact that she was able to coach us in the Hmong and share her voice (literally and figuratively) with the students was a joy.

Students rose to the occasion and thanks to Sam and Walt, we were able to bring Douachi’s piece to life. I am always grateful for the students I get to work with and I find myself touched by their courage, creativity and drive.

I hope you’ll tune in… or even better - perform it! You can find all the resources to perform the piece here.