Bloom

PDF score of Bloom for SATB Choir with Divisi, Guitar, & Percussion.
Please note: 10 copy minimum. Please purchase one copy per member of your choir.

In the spring of 2022, I was asked to give a testimonial at Third Angle’s January 2023 Self Portrait concert by artistic director Sarah Tiedemann. I was asked to talk about the process of creating art during the pandemic, and what came out was an exploration of how I flourished as an autistic femme trans/non-binary person both socially and coming into my gender identity through the ability to connect on Zoom, take voice lesson with Lisa Neher, and write “If Only I Could Give You the Sun,” a trans/non-binary retelling of Icarus and Daedalus with Brain Dang for the Seattle Opera Creation Lab. This testimonial served as the basis for the text of Bloom, a choral work for Big Mouth Society’s Queer & Dear concert which “[celebrates] the many facets of musical contributions by LGBTQ+ artists” (Big Mouth Society). Emily Lau, their artistic director, gave me the prompt to explore the signs and signals that one is queer, which lead me to the intersection of my autistic and queer identities. From being born into normative boxes that society forces you into and finding the right language to describe myself and the support of “social anchors,” folks I can be my whole self with and help me feel grounded, this allowed me to bloom. Using the influence of queer singer/ songwriters such as Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, boygenius, and Dodie; composers Caroline Shaw, Eve Beglarian, Caleb Burhans, and Katerina Gimon; and visual artist @traspainter (Rae Senarighi), I explored the idea of queering the compositional process, exploring different approaches and continuing to celebrate my neurodiversity and queerness as I continue to align my life with myself.

SATB Choir with Divisi, Guitar, & Percussion ​

Intermediate

Coming Soon

Bloom
How can we bloom
when were put into boxes that teach us grief, shame and guilt?
How can I find myself
in the beauty and the joy of humanity?CHORUS:
I want to bloom
I want to bloom into myself Tucked away from the earth I want to bloom as myself Grounded by social anchors Giving voice to the voiceless
We found language
in the space
between;
a community of understanding
I found my words, unmistaken
Tired and tender, I’m aligning myself to bloomCHORUS:
I want to bloom
I want to bloom into myself Tucked away from the earth I want to bloom as myself Grounded by social anchors Giving voice to the voiceless

We see you
We love you
You beautiful, compassionate soul We see you
We love you
You beautiful, compassionate soul We hear you
We love you
We’re here for you

CHORUS:
I want to bloom
I want to bloom into myself Tucked away from the earth I’m blooming as myself Grounded by social anchors Giving voice to the voiceless
​
– Drew Swatosh (2023)