I Should Be Free

The North Star guided freedom seekers to liberty.

Title: I Should Be Free

Composer: Louise Berens

Description: I Should Be Free is a piece for vocalist and orchestra that uses quotes from Harriet Tubman to create a sort of prayer using her own words. The title was inspired by this quote from Harriet: “He gave me strength, and he set the North Star in the heavens; He meant I should be free.”

The piece is highly rhythmic, with a fundamental groove derived from West African music.

Instrumentation: 2222/4331/Timp+2/Guitar (optional)/Harp/Strings/Vocalist

Length: 4:00

Rental Fee: $275.00 first performance. $90.00 per subsequent performance.

Delivery Formats: Available in printed parts and scores, or PDF parts and scores, or both. An additional $100.00 fee applies for delivery in both printed and PDF formats.

I Should Be Free was filmed for the American Public Television special A Call to Freedom with The Ohio Valley Symphony, and is currently being broadcast throughout the United States. A video of I Should Be Free is below.