Boy With Orange (Out of Kosovo) was co-commissioned in 2019 by a consortium of Canadian amateur choirs:

Accord Vocal Ensemble (Edmonton AB) - Artistic Director: Erin Craig

Beach United Church (Toronto ON) - Director of Music: Steven Webb

Ensemble Gaïa (Montreal QC) - Artistic Director: Roseline Blain

Holy Trinity Anglican Church (Edmonton AB) - Music Director: Dr. John Brough

Vocal Alchemy (Edmonton AB) - Artistic Director: Jordan Van Biert

VIVA! Youth Singers (Toronto ON) - Artistic Director: Carol Woodward Ratzlaff Associate Artistic Director: Brad Ratzlaff

Duration: ca. 4:00

SATB, SAB, SSAA, TTBB, SSA, SA or Unison choir + piano

Boy With Orange (out of Kosovo)

Lotte Kramer (reprinted with permission)

A boy holding an orange in his hands

Has crossed the border in uncertainty.

He stands there, stares with marble eyes at scenes

Too desolate for him to comprehend.

Now, in this globe he's clutching something safe,

A round assurance and a promised joy

No one shall take away. He cannot smile.

Behind him are the stones of babyhood.

Soon he will find a hand, perhaps, to hold,

Or a kind face, some comfort for a while.

Boy With Orange (out of Kosovo) is published by Cypress Choral Music.

Program Notes

This piece is intended as a contemporary musical reflection for the time around Remembrance Day (Armistice Day) or any concert or event on the theme of war and peace.

Lotte Kramer’s poem (see left column) is a striking image of how war affects the lives of children and their families. It reflects the devastating reality of modern warfare, and the resulting global refugee crisis.

• ARTICLE: Lotte Kramer’s life and work

• VIDEO: “Jewish survivor Lotte Kramer discusses the way her poetry has transformed her outlook on life and the Holocaust”