Equality: SSAA Choral Octavo

Hayes brings the emotional urgency of contemporary gospel into a concert choral setting without sacrificing harmonic sophistication or textual clarity. The strategic use of solo voice creates a powerful focal point for Maya Angelou's words while the built-in modulation for standalone performance ensures the piece lands with conviction rather than fading into sentiment. This is repertoire with backbone.

Propulsive and purposeful, with the rhythmic drive of gospel music elevated by Hayes's refined harmonic language. The piece builds from determined declaration into spirited affirmation, moving audiences through conviction rather than nostalgia.

SSAA choirs seeking contemporary repertoire with serious textual and social purpose. This works equally well for advanced high school choirs and college/community ensembles that want to engage with meaningful material beyond traditional sacred or secular divisions.

• Establish the solo voice as a leader from rehearsal one; this person carries the message and needs secure musicianship and confident diction.
• Anchor the harmonic movement through the modulation by ensuring the bass line stays grounded and the chord changes feel inevitable rather than abrupt.
• Shape the final refrain with dynamic confidence, letting the upward modulation serve as the emotional architecture that lifts the piece rather than simply transposing it higher.
• Balance the gospel idiom with concert hall clarity; groove should sit inside precise rhythmic ensemble, not float above it.

Program this as a powerful standalone statement about justice and human dignity, or integrate it into a thematic concert exploring civil rights, equality, and social responsibility. The optional connection to the closing movement of Like Dust I Rise allows for a multi-movement choral statement if both pieces are in your season.

• Singing in contemporary gospel style while maintaining concert choir precision
• Navigating modulation and tonal shifts within a single piece
• Balancing solo and ensemble roles to support a unified message
• Performing rhythmically driven music with harmonic complexity
• Interpreting and communicating poetry with musical purpose