VocalEssence Chorus; Franklin Middle School Chorus; Johnson Senior High School Chorus; North High School Chorus; Parkway Montessori and Community Middle School Chorus; Timothy Berry, percussion

My sister was an English teacher at the Minnesota International Middle School in Minneapolis which provides a safe and inclusive environment for East African immigrant students to learn (many of whom are Somali). Most of these students came to the USA to escape the violent civil war that has plagued Somalia since 1991. Seeking a better life for their children, these students’ parents risked their lives to come to the USA—a valiant act of love.
I wanted to tell their story through music and asked my sister to have her students write poems about their experiences leaving their home and coming to the USA. I sifted through more than 100 poems and found the powerful words of 14-year-old Warda Mohamed that became the backbone of the composition. Using Warda’s poem and two Somali proverbs, “We Can Mend the Sky” is a musical depiction of one’s journey as an immigrant and an affirmation of hope as we all embrace the diversity around us.
—Jake Runestad

Let my dream come true In my dream I saw a world free of violence hunger suffering a world filled with love Now awake in this world I beg, let my dream come true. Soo baxa. (Let’s go.) Naftu orod bay kugu aamintaa. (To save your life, run with all your might.) If we come together, we can mend a crack in the sky.