Let It Ring! was composed for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra for the Express Yourself! Young People's Concerts for performance in January and February 2018. The piece incorporates the originally composed melody of the 2017-18 winner of the CSO's Young People's Concerts Melody Writing Contest, in which young people from Cincinnati area schools are invited to compose and submit a melody to be incorporated in a brand new piece commissioned by the orchestra. It has truly been a pleasure to participate in this annual event as I strongly believe in the power of music to shape lives, societies, and eventually our world.

 

John Lawrie, from Covington Catholic High School (Convington, KY) and winner of the 2017-18 Young People's Concerts Melody Contest, composed the winning melody entitled, America's Proud Lullaby (The Bellinger's Song).

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The participating students in the contest also used poetry as a source of inspiration for their melodies. Mark Flanigan, Cincinnati-based poet/writer and winner of the 2015 One City, One Symphony Poetry Contest wrote an inspiring poem about social justice, entitled "The Bell Ringer's Song," who's endearing message lies at the heart of this piece; to let our bells ring relentlessly in the spirit of love, freedom, and equity.