William Shakespeare (ca. 1594-1616)
Sara Teasdale (1884-1933)
To the life and memory of Tom Beckett
An Actor's Elegy
Excerpt from the speech "All the world's a stage" from As You Like It
All the world's a stage And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits, and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts,
William Shakespeare (ca. 1594-1616)
° ¢ { Solo or Treble Choir
Duncan Tuomi (b. 1994)
I lift my heart as spring lifts up A yellow daisy to the rain; My heart will be a lovely cup Altho' it holds but pain.
For I shall learn fro m flower and leaf That color every drop they hold, To change the lifeless wine of grief To living gold.
Sara Teasdale (1884-1933)
q = 62 Psalm-like poco rit.
theworld'sastage,alltheworld'sastage,
I mp freely dictated liftmyheart, asspringlifts up ayellow - daisy - totherain; a tempo
p alltheworld'sastage, alltheworld'sastage, and p alltheworld'sastage, alltheworld'sastage, and p alltheworld'sastage, alltheworld'sastage, and p alltheworld'sastage, alltheworld'sastage, and a tempo
altho' - itholds butpain.
alltheworld'sastage, p alltheworld,they mf more urgently havetheirexits, - theyhavetheir ex
alltheworld'sastage, p alltheworld,they mf more urgently havetheirexits, - theyhavetheir ex
alltheworld'sastage,
alltheworld'sastage,
hold, to mf change, tochange, to change, p a tempo poco rit.
theyhaveand mf oneman, mp one man, p oneman, all pp theworld'sastage, theyhaveand mf oneman, mp one man, p oneman, all pp theworld'sastage, theyhaveand mf oneman, mp one man, p oneman, all pp theworld'sastage, theyhaveand mf oneman, mp one man, p oneman, all pp theworld'sastage,all a tempo poco rit.
to
living - gold,
inhistimeplaysmany - parts,many - parts one
maninhistime, inhistimeplaysmanytime,histimeplaysmany - parts,many - parts one
man,onemaninhistime,histimeplaysmanytimeplaysmany - parts,many - parts one
maninhistimeplaysmanyonemaninhistimeplaysmany - parts,many - parts
man,onemaninhistimeplaysmany -
heart, Iliftmyheart, I p liftmyheart.
alltheworld'sastage, alltheworld'sastage, pp
alltheworld'sastage, alltheworld'sastage, pp
alltheworld'sastage, alltheworld'sastage, pp
alltheworld'sastage, alltheworld'sastage, pp
About the Composer:
Duncan Tuomi (b 1994) is a choral conductor and award-winning composer based in Los Angeles, California. He currently studies choral music in the Doctor of Musical Arts program at the University of Southern California (USC), where he also completed his Master of Music degree. In addition to his choral music degree, he studied composition with Dr. Frank Ticheli and Dr. Chris Rozé. He also holds a Bachelor of Music Degree in Vocal Music Education from St. Olaf College, where he studied under Dr. Anton Armstrong and Dr. Christopher Aspaas, among many others.
As a composer, Tuomi was the winner of the 2023 American Prize in Short Choral Works, College and University Division, as well as the 2021 American Choral Director’s Association’s Raymond W. Brock Memorial Student Composition Competition. He was also a composition fellow in Choral Arts Initiative’s summer 2022 PREMIERE|Project. Tuomi has had works premiered by Choral Arts Initiative under the direction of Brandon Elliott, the USC Thornton Chamber Singers and University Chorus under his own direction and under the direction of Stevie J. Hirner, the Long Beach Youth Chorus under the direction of Stevie J. Hirner, the University of Portland Chamber Singers under the direction of Dr. Michael Connolly, the Pacific University Chamber Singers under the direction of Dr. Scott Tuomi. He has received commissions from the Long Beach Youth Chorus and was commissioned to compose for the 10th annual Brothers, Sing On! Tenor/Bass Choir Festival in 2018.
About the Piece:
An Actor’s Elegy combines the texts of William Shakespeare’s speech, “All the world’s a stage” from As You Like It and Sara Teasdale’s poem Alchemy. This composition is dedicated to Tom Beckett, my theater teacher during my middle school years, who passed away in the spring of 2020. His kindness, warmth, and passion for his art is a significant part of my inspiration to become a teacher, and he is deeply beloved, sorely missed, and fondly remembered by his family, friends, and students.
The SATB choir repeats phrases from Shakespeare’s speech, which Beckett once selected as a phrase that he might use to summarize his life for one of our class assignments. This text is used to represent the effect of his passing on the world that surrounded him, the theatrical, artistic, and academic communities of Portland, Oregon, and the wider world that his students have gone on to influence. The Teasdale text, in contrast, serves as a personal reflection on the weight of his passing to the individual that knew him, and how one might take that grief, and in allowing themselves to experience it fully, may transform pain into “living gold”. This concept of living gold, to me, represents the healing through the creation of art that feeds the bright memories of the departed, rather than focusing on their loss. However, I invite anyone experiencing loss to whom that phrase speaks differently to hold their own interpretations in their hearts, as it is only in one’s personal truth that their art may shine its brightest.
The indication “Psalm-like” refers to a steady recitation of the text, treated with reverence.