Awakening Sands

"Awakening Sands" is the titular piece from a musical I am writing. This musical follows main character Femi (the male vocalist in this piece) who is thrust into leading his people in a revolution against an oppressive ruling class. Throughout this show, Femi is extremely doubtful of his abilities, and heavily relies on his grandmother Kasiya (the female vocalist in this piece) to lead him through such a difficult role. This piece is a duet between Femi and Kasiya as Kasiya is dying; Femi does not know how he can lead his people without her guidance, but she leaves him with words of hope and reminds him that with love at the core of his actions, he will be successful.

The titular song from "Awakening Sands: a new musical" by Kirk Baltzell at a Beginning Composition recital on December 17, 2018. Huge thank you to Vinay Thomas and Khali Sykes (vocalists), Noah Simon (piano), and Matthew Lyons (guitar). All rights belong to Kirk Baltzell 2018; video courtesy of the University of Texas at Austin's Butler School of Music.