Gary Clausing

I was commissioned by Randy Hilgers, Director of the Institute for Parish Worship at St. Joseph Parish in Grafton, WI to compose a piece for a concert commemorating the 10th anniversary of 9/11/2001.  It was an honor for me to perform this piece with members of the St. Joseph Parish Choir, along with members of the Ozaukee Chorus.  Directed by Randy Hilgers, accompanied by Tina Davis on piano, Rod Lisowski on synthesizer, Mark Paschke on guitar, as well as Paul Kronforst, Tom Fisher and Michael Manning on percussion. Doug Arendt played taps on the trumpet.  A special thanks to Rod Lisowski for recording the evening's event.

We Will Not Forget

all of the smiles that were lost that day,

the courage with out fear,

the trust that's gone away.

No we will not forget.

We will not forget all of the pain in our heart,

all the tears that won't dry,

all the love shown by this land

We will not forget this is the land of the free,

and the home of the brave

Christmas Time was a result of an invitation by Mrs. Judy Plaster and Thorson Elementary School in Cedarburg, WI to participate in their Artist in Residence program. It was a treat to work with the children in learning song structure, rhyming, and rhythmic patterns. We brainstormed ideas of what Christmas brings to mind, and there was even homework involved asking them to write their own verses. Upon reviewing all of the great homework, I compiled all of the different ideas and wrote the song attempting to represent the main ideas presented by the children. Knowing there were many talented children in the class, I also incorporated some instrument parts to add to the character of the piece, and showcase their abilities. Mrs. Plaster and the kids rose to the challenge and performed the song beautifully at their holiday concert on December 15th, 2009 at the Cedarburg Performing Arts Center.