Andrea Reinkemeyer, music (http://andreareinkemeyer.com/) Artis Henderson, text Commissioned by Rodney Dorsey for the University of Oregon Premiere performance: Carolyn Quick, soprano; Cole Blume, tenor University Singers (Sharon Paul, director) Oregon Wind Ensemble Rodney Dorsey, conductor The Thaw I am the bud curled tight against the cold. I am the bulb beneath the snow. I am the white sky, the long night, the crack and shudder of ice. I wait beside the adder’s tongue, the cobra lily, the purple hyacinth for the soil to stir and the river to swell. I wait through mist and hail. I am fog and breath and cloud. I am the cherries on the branches, too green. I am rain. And rain. And rain. And then -- I am the windows flung open to catch the sun, my mouth like cherries, the heat building in me. I am leaf-touched, sun-tasted, petal-kissed. I am wind and light and sky. I am the cleft in the ridge; I am the river -- roaring, roaring, flooded with rain. -- Artis Henderson Copyright ©