I have collaborated with Australian poet Richard Chisholm on a new choral arrangement of “Poor Wayfaring Stranger.” Unlike my earlier versions which use the traditional words, this one has brand new lyrics which tell the moving story of a refugee, a wayfaring stranger who has come to live among us.

He’s Just a Poor Wayfaring Stranger

After my composition “The Wind in the Wheat” was named one of the winners of the “Voices of the Prairie” composition contest, I got to attend the premiere by Sonus Chamber Choir in Topeka, Kansas. It’s now available for sale. A recording by Sonus Chamber Choir will be available in October 2026.

For many years I’ve wanted to compose choral music based on the poetry of the prairie, and this contest provided the perfect opportunity, since the text had to be in some way related to Kansas. I chose to use this poem by a poet from my home state of North Dakota, Jessamine Slaughter Burgum, in which she personifies the prairie wind and a field of wheat as two partners in a dance. The music imitates the ever-flowing, whistling, unpredictable wind.

The Wind in the Wheat

The Intrepid Brass commissioned me to adapt my arrangement of “Poor Wayfaring Stranger” for solo trombone and brass quintet, and they premiered it with the world-renowned trombonist Peter Steiner. Watch it on YouTube.

The sheet music is now available: Poor Wayfaring Stranger (trombone + brass quintet)