Generations is a setting of poetry by Brian Sonia-Wallace (@rentpoet) for TTBB voices, piano and string quartet. This piece is written to honor members of the LGBTQIAx community who came out before us and paved the way for the liberties and rights we are able to enjoy today, recognizing that there is still much work to do.

It started as a responsive poem written based on a conversation with a stranger at the West Hollywood Pride Parade in 2019. It was a result of the Pride Poets initiative, in which queer poets wrote for the public on typewriters throughout the day on topics of their choosing inan act of witnessing and gift-giving. This poem was written for a participant who wanted a poemabout the gratitude they felt for an older partner and mentor who had helped them come toterms with their sexuality and shaped what “gay” meant for them. They talked about queerness across generations, queer mentorship, and what it might mean to honor legacy and history in the context of chosen family.

This piece is commissioned by the Knoxville Gay Men’s Chorus for their performance at the 2020 GALA Choruses Festival “In the Living Years” — Dr. Alan Stevens, Artistic Director. Supported by the East Tennessee State University Department of Music.