Patrick Watson is a singer/songwriter, film composer, and pianist based in Montreal, Canada. I was searching and searching for a song for VYC that spoke to this time in history for all of us. For what COVID has changed in us, for the ripples of loss – not just of loved ones, but of time, moments, rites of passage, and how that loss circles out in our lives and in our communities. I found lots of songs of hope, and joy, about overcoming obstacles, etc, but Here Comes the River resonated with me because it lived unapologetically inside this moment in time. Two lines spoke to me: “Sometimes, it’s gonna fall down on your shoulders / But you’re gonna stand through it all,” and “Sometimes you gotta burn to keep the storm away.”

For VYC, this has become a song that speaks clearly to the importance of resilience and community in our lives. It is a tough time to be young. There has been a dramatic increase in documented cases of anxiety, depression and self harm in youth, and it can be a struggle to find places for authentic, face-to-face, human connection. Having a safe community like choral music, where you are working diligently, side by side with others, to create something of beauty… we don’t have to explain to WSCM delegates the value this brings to our lives and (we believe) to society as a whole. In Here Comes the River, Patrick Watson uses the image of a river flooding an entire town to reflect this struggle. We have worked with Vancouver choreographer Leslie Telford to show through our bodies and through sound that: “Yes, this is really hard. And yes, through our own strength and perseverance, through deep connection with one another, we are going to be okay.”