Music Opens
This choral work fragments text from the quote:
“Music acts like a magic key, to which the most tightly closed heart opens,” by Maria Augusta von Trapp.
Listening to how all the voices come together, music opens.
Program Notes
Composed in 2019, Music Opens sets Maria von Trapp’s quote: “Music acts like a magic key, to which the most tightly closed heart opens.”
You’ll hear fragmented individual sounds gradually organize and become powerful. Von Trapp’s escape from fascist Austria, later fictionalized in The Sound of Music, offers a reminder for ways music can be both refuge and resistance in times of fear and division. As the child of immigrants whose ancestors experienced forced migration, I similarly affirm music’s capacity to transcend borders and awaken empathy. In a world continuing to struggle for liberation and understanding, Music Opens invites us to unlock hearts through music’s enduring magic.
Scrolling Sheet Music Video
Score (scroll inside frame)
Composer
Byron Au Yong
Details
Duration: 4 minutes
SATB, a cappella
Performances
Chamber Choir, conducted by Leann Conley-Holcom
Seattle University Choirs
Seattle WA, May 16, 2025
ASUSF Voices, conducted by Rick Roberts
Presentation Theater at the University of San Francisco
San Francisco CA, April 14,, 2019
Dedication
In 1989, Rick Roberts started a choir after a College Players performance at USF. The choir fulfilled a need students had to sing together more often. 30 years later, ASUSF Voices provides multiple choral ensembles for students of all skill levels from any major. I composed this work to honor Rick’s love of choral music and musical theater.
Performance Notes
Open Notation (Incantation, Rehearsal B)
Singers vocalize as individuals to create an evocative aural collage
Conductor shapes these sections to last as long as needed
Singers watch Conductor for cue to continue to next section
Western Notation (Rehearsals A, C to H)
Arrow è indicates Open Notation vocalizations continue
Repeat signs are for one repetition
Leaps of a 6th and an octave are based on yodeling
Each portamento vocal slide lasts the entire length of the note
Lyrics
English and IPA are used
IPA sounds are indicated in brackets [ ]
The lyric related to the IPA pronunciation is on the right side of the score
The composite of musical utterances provides the meaning of the quote