Our Only Home

by Karl Hitzemann

"Our Only Home" is a pretty and delicate song about our Earth, which coincidentally is also pretty and delicate. It would be a natural for performing on or around Earth Day, but you could use it for any performance you like since it does not specifically say anything about Earth Day. This 2-part piece will also provide your choir with a nice choral challenge as it will take some practice to get it just right. By the way, to help your singers learn the optional second vocal part, there is an isolated rehearsal track available on our web site.

The song's accompaniment starts with just piano and adds strings as it gently moves along. However, you could easily perform it completely live with the provided piano accompaniment. A guitar and/or flute would be nice additions if you have players who are up to the task. When listening to the recorded track, take a moment to enjoy the artistry of violinist Zachary DePue. He played the solo on this piece absolutely beautifully.

As always, when it comes to celebrating Earth Day or just discussing environmental issues, we recommend that you let classroom teachers know you have resources to help bring the topic across the curriculum. (If you're interested in knowing more about our large selection of music to support this subject, please visit our online Index at MusicK8.com where you can also listen to excerpts of our materials.)

(Note: This song includes a Diving Deeper Into The Music learning assessment PDF.)

Text is taken from Music K-8 magazine.