A poem written early in the pandemic by Lynn Ungar, “A Seed Marks Time,” serves as the foundation for a new choral work (2024) by composer Dale Trumbore that bears the same title. The piece is unapologetically uncommon—to program, to conduct, to sing, and to experience. It asks for patience, attentiveness, and a willingness to sit still in a world that often compels us to…

We are living in a moment that prizes ease above almost everything else … It’s worth pausing to ask what gets lost when ease becomes the goal, especially for things that once depended on time, patience, and people paying attention to one another.