Video Information

• Piece: Ritual del Nuevo Día
• Composer:  Santiago Veros
• Arranger:  Santiago Veros
• Conductor:  Santiago Veros
• Voices:  SSAA or TTBB
• Genres: A cappella, Classical, Folk/Ethnic, Contemporary, Virtual Choir
• Sheet music available by sending an email to contact@santiagoveros.site
  
  RITUAL DEL NUEVO DÍA (Ritual of the new day) SSAA + solo
  Commissioned by Lockport Township High School Bel Canto Chorale and its conductor Benjamin Saunders
  moreSheet music available by sending an email to contact@santiagoveros.site
  
  RITUAL DEL NUEVO DÍA (Ritual of the new day) SSAA + solo
  Commissioned by Lockport Township High School Bel Canto Chorale and its conductor Benjamin Saunders
  
  About the Work (approx. duration 4 mins.)
  When Santiago and I began to discuss this commission, we kept returning to the subject of mental health and inclusion. In a discussion with students, one student voiced that they “feel excluded and not cared for,” and that their struggle with mental health “has made [them] feel alone and helpless.”
  
  Santiago begins the piece with an old, quasi-ritualistic melody that calls back to previous times and traditions. As the work continues, the melody unites together with the other voices to emulate inclusion and unity of voices. His text draws parallels to nature and how we are able to bloom through the darkness of adversity with the help of others.
  
  We hope this work aids in our conversations about the importance of discussing mental health and inclusion. In our discussion, other students affirmed that “when I am included by others, it makes me feel more like a person and less invisible.” “We can talk about mental health more to let people know that they are not alone; there are people who care for and love them.” “Everyone deserves to be seen and heard.”
  
  - Benjamin Saunders -
  
  Lyrics
  
  It will bloom exalted from mountains;
  Mantle of time and dawn.
  It will bloom from winter and silence;
  In time after fear.
  
  In thoughts, the flower
  The ancestral spring running through existence;
  Brothers and sisters in soul and presence.
  
  In the vernal light of a new day:
  It will grow strong and proud with rivers by its side,
  It will grow loved with hope in its hands.
  
  And in the soul, the light.
  A beacon that guides in the dark,
  Hope for the future...    less