Programme Note
Composer's Note:
Prayer and Celebration for chamber orchestra, commissioned by Saint Paul’s High School on the occasion of their Sesquicentennial, was funded by the Roger S. Firestone Foundation.
The work lasts four minutes and is an intimate and resonant “song” which celebrates lyric, prayerful lines allied to warm harmonies.
This work is in the tradition of works such as the Samuel Barber Adagio For Strings and can be played by orchestras of all levels, from student to amateur to professional.
— Augusta Read Thomas