I Walk on Suns at Night

Instrumentation: voice (F3-G5) and piano

Duration: 4 minutes

I Walk on Suns at Night was written from 2023-2024 for contralto McKey Monroe. The piece uses text from Angel Reed’s “cellphone roses.” The work was premiered by McKey Monroe and Antonio Sanz Escallón at the Peabody Conservatory on March 6th, 2024.

cellphone roses

how unfair it is,

that although your heart

wears gray with grief,

to know it keeps

it’s gently swung andante

empties me of duller tones,

and even with an ocean

to hide the rocks between us,

our evening talks

are the reason

i walk on suns at night,

my palette green

in every season.

i wish to open for you

that little room

inside my chest

where brims red wine

and roses you left

from your cell–meanwhile,

your home looms

cavernous and vacant

as i swell with joys not mine.

they are yours.

please take them.

Score to View: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PsTBJ51EKf_CTZAXF8rh3q8TnzMMhsUv/view?usp=drive_link