Identity, Diversity, American History, Self-Expression, *New Michael Bussewitz-Quarm Identity, Diversity, American History, Self-Expression, *New Michael Bussewitz-Quarm

Hair (Where We Find Ourselves)

The second movement from Where We Find Ourselves, this piece is about the manipulation of hair and the conformity or nonconformity of following hair "rules." This selection is built on repetitive rhythms with some vocally percussive consonants that mimic the pushing and pulling of hair.

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Lamiya’s Song

Lamiya's Song is written to bring attention to one of the most significant and challenging issues in our world today, the global refugee crisis. Lamiya Safarova lost her home and her village to the Nagorno-Karabakh War when she was only nine, eventually settling with her family in a cardboard shack on the shore of the Caspian Sea. She began writing poems to express her feelings. The loss of her home and her village had a profound impact on Lamiya. And so did being classified as a "refugee" by her classmates in school. Lamiya has a name, and her poem gives her a voice.

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