Melissa Dunphy

Other Arrangements

SATB choir

A moving choral setting of excerpts of public testimony given before the Maine Senate by WWII veteran Phillip Spooner in a hearing to discuss the Marriage Equality Bill on April 22, 2009. Nearly 4,000 people attended the hearing, with marriage equality supporters out-numbering the opposition 4 to 1. On November 2, 2009, Maine voters repealed the bill that allowed same-sex couples the right to marry.

Press Quotes

Featured on Towleroad, ChoralNet Blog, The Albany Times Union (David Griggs-Janower), Joe. My. God., Good As You, Slacktivist, KCMetropolis (plus additional interview), Instinct Magazine's "Video of the Day" (June 2, 2010).

"Melissa Dunphy’s piece What do you think I fought for at Omaha Beach? is quite remarkable, not least for the choice of text... Dunphy's music is unsettling and it’s a very individual setting which respects speech rhythms very well. It’s a thought-provoking piece not least for Spooner’s very moving sentiments." [musicweb-international.com]

"You're also going to want to hear Melissa Dunphy's unique and affecting setting of - of all things - a WWII veteran's testimony on matters of sexual equality given before the Mine State Senate. 'My wife and I did not raise four sons with the idea that our gay son would be left out,' he told them. 'We raised them all to be hard-working, proud, and loyal Americans and they all did good.' Amen." [American Record Guide]

"The most individual work is Melissa Dunphy's What do you think I fought for at Omaha Beach?; Dunphy shows great ingenuity and individuality in this powerful setting of Philip Spooner's public testimony before the State of Maine Senate discussing the Marriage Equality Bill." [Choir & Organ]

"Dunphy's music has hints of an almost Copland-like robustness and makes effective use of imitation in a way that suggests a twenty-first-century composer with a strong sense of counterpoint." [International Record Review]

"A bold and highly effective setting of a thought-provoking text." [Simon Carrington]

“This piece demonstrates to me how a true artist is able to take even a most unlikely source of inspiration and yet create a new work of art from it,” says Barnes. “It is for others to argue the case behind Philip Spooner’s words, but Melissa Dunphy’s music certainly poses the question in a new and telling light.” [Philip Barnes]

"The final piece on the program was Melissa Dunphy’s stunning 2010 “What Do You Think I Fought for at Omaha Beach?” Excerpts from veteran Philip Spooner’s testimony before the Maine Senate, in a hearing on the Marriage Equality Bill, its music ranges from the Coplandesque to the martial. The touching text and moving music were made powerful by the SLCC’s performance." [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

"A newly commissioned work by Melissa Dunphy followed: “What do you think I fought for at Omaha Beach?” Dunphy’s music was exceptional, with supple lines effectively depicting the words of a veteran, and acerbic harmonies specifically setting the text 'I’ve seen so much, so much blood and guts.'" [Kansas City Star]

"Simon Carrington gave his reasoning behind selecting Dunphy's work as the winner. "There were plenty of excellent pieces in the sweet-sounding modern idiom which SCCS would make very beautiful, but the strongest (and most individual) piece was Melissa Dunphy's What do you think I fought for at Omaha Beach? - a bold and highly effective setting of a thought-provoking text." [KCMETROPOLIS.org]

What do you think I fought for at Omaha Beach?
Excerpted from public testimony by Phillip Spooner (2009)

Good morning, committee. My name is Phillip Spooner and I live at 5 Graham Street in Biddeford. I am 86 years old and a lifetime Republican and an active VFW chaplain … I was born on a potato farm north of Caribou and Perham, where I was raised to believe that all men are created equal and I've never forgotten that.

I served in the U.S. Army, 1942-1945 … I worked with every outfit over there, including Patton's Third Army. I saw action in all five major battles in Europe … I was in the liberation of Paris.

(I have seen much, so much blood and guts, so much suffering, much sadness, much sacrifice.)

I am here today because of a conversation I had last June when I was voting. A woman … asked me, "Do you believe in equality for gay and lesbian people?" I was pretty surprised to be asked a question like that. It made no sense to me. Finally I asked her, "What do you think I fought for at Omaha Beach?"

For freedom and equality. These are the values that make America a great nation, one worth dying for.

My wife and I did not raise four sons with the idea that our gay son would be left out. We raised them all to be hard-working, proud, and loyal Americans and they all did good.

—Public testimony given before the Maine Senate by Phillip Spooner in a hearing to discuss the Marriage Equality Bill on April 22, 2009. Nearly 4,000 people attended the hearing, with marriage equality supporters out-numbering the opposition 4 to 1.

On November 2, 2009, Maine voters repealed the bill that allowed same-sex couples the right to marry.

Performances

• 23 Apr, 2017: Cantus at South Congregational First Baptist Church, New Britain, CT
• 20 Apr, 2017: Cantus at Longwood Gardens Exhibition Hall, Kennett Square, PA
• 11 Mar, 2017: Cantus at Central Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, MN
• 05 Mar, 2017: Cantus at Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall, Fort Myers, FL
• 18 Feb, 2017: Cantus at Northwestern College Chapel, Orange City, IA
• 17 Feb, 2017: Cantus at John and Alice Butler Hall, Dubuque, IA
• 15 Feb, 2017: Cantus at Crimi Auditorium in the Institute for Collaboration, Aurora, IL
• 12 Feb, 2017: Cantus at St. James By-the-sea Episcopal Church, La Jolla, CA
• 02 Feb, 2017: Cantus at Griffin Concert Hall, Fort Collins, CO
• 07 Jan, 2017: Cantus at Lakeville Area Arts Center, Lakeville, MN
• 06 Jan, 2017: Cantus at Grand Theatre, Wausau, WI
• 23 Nov, 2016: Cantus at St. Bartholomew's Catholic Church, Wayzata, MN
• 11 Nov, 2016: Cantus at Highland Park Presbyterian Church, Dallas, TX
• 09 Nov, 2016: Cantus at Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
• 06 Nov, 2016: Cantus at Kean Stage, Union, NJ
• 05 Nov, 2016: Cantus at Donald W. Nixon Centre for the Arts, Newnan, GA
• 04 Nov, 2016: Cantus at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, Atlanta, GA
• 30 Oct, 2016: Cantus at Chorus of Westerly's Kent Hall, Westerly, RI
• 22 Oct, 2016: Cantus at Trinity Lutheran Church, Stillwater, MN
• 21 Oct, 2016: Cantus at Colonial Church, Edina, MN
• 15 Oct, 2016: Cantus at Ordway Concert Hall, St. Paul, MN
• 13 Oct, 2016: Cantus at Macphail Center for Music, Minneapolis, MN
• 18 May, 2014: Empire City Men's Chorus at Church of the Holy Trinity, New York, NY
• 17 May, 2014: Empire City Men's Chorus at Church of the Holy Apostles, New York, NY
• 16 May, 2014: Empire City Men's Chorus at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Brooklyn, NY
• 04 Apr, 2012: Chanticleer at Menlo-Atherton High School Pac Theater, Atherton, CA
• 03 Apr, 2012: Chanticleer at First Congregational Church, Berkeley, CA
• 31 Mar, 2012 - 01 Apr, 2012: Chanticleer at Koret Auditorium, De Young Museum, San Francisco, CA

Awards

• Simon Carrington Chamber Singers Composition Competition 2010