We thought it only fair to start with our own SMTH story. Some years ago, Paul Gulsvig brought his Onalaska High School Choir to Washington DC. We had spoken to him on several occasions, and he had mentioned that they had a student in the choir who had been diagnosed with a fatal illness, and that SMTH had become especially meaningful to the choir during the year. When he knew he would be bringing the choir close to where we were living, he extended the choir’s invitation to come hear them sing. While schedules did not permit our hearing a concert, they very much wanted to have us hear them sing this piece. As it turned out, the only time we could arrange it was right before lunch in the middle of a day that was as busy for them as for us.

We arrived at their big, downtown hotel a little later than we wanted to (Washington DC traffic!) and rushed into the lobby to find all the students in the lobby, along with the usual noisy, bustling crowd that inhabits a large hotel lobby. After hurried greetings and introductions we were told by Paul that what we were about to experience happened every day in their choir rehearsal. Escorted by a beautiful, delicate young woman we were put into the center of a circle of students who quietly, without a director, began to sing “In my heart’s sequestered chambers lie truths stripped of poets gloss”...

The hotel lobby went silent as people stopped to listen. The young lady with us in the circle was dying – she knew it and the students knew it. Unable to cure her, they had come up with this daily ritual as the only healing they could offer. It was heartbreakingly beautiful, and profoundly moving.

I was introduced to Sing Me To Heaven during a choral festival in 1998. It was absolutely gorgeous. A couple years later a very dear friend and brilliant choral conductor, Paul Hill (founder of the Paul Hill Chorale & Washington Singers in Washington, D.C. - now the Master Chorale of Washington) passed away. At his memorial service, Paul planned his music to be played and Sing Me To Heaven was one of the selections. It added such a pleasant, warm and sophisticated touch to his service. If you knew Paul Hill, then you'd know how special this selection has come to mean so much to so many.

I am a former member of the Onalaska Choir. This song has meant more to me than I can ever explain and I thank you for that. We sang this song at the funeral of the young girl you met finding peace in the beauty and hope in its meaning. Over the years, I often sit back and listen to this song and feel complete on my hardest days. I know many other of students that have gone through the Onalaska program feel the exact way that I do. So once again, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving us something we can cling to when our own words are insufficient.

I sang this piece last year with the rest of my High School chorus. At the time, we loved the piece, but other thatn its beauty, it had no special meaning to us. We had a phenomenal conductor who had been with the music school for years. That same spring, she was diagnosed with cancer. Although we were not informed of this until later, that summer, I like to think that our last concert with Judie included Sing Me To Heaven, that, in a way, we could provide her some comfort with our music. She worked herself until the end of her life, to provide us with all the musical opportunities possible- and she passed away just days before we were to sing at Symphony Hall in Boston. I look back on this piece as our final triumph with Judie, and i want to thank anyone who had a hand in its making. You can't know just how much it meant to me, and to my chorus.

I attended a memorial service for a 17 year old junior, Karlie Kaska, from Lakewood High School in Washington today. She was killed in a tragic car accident and was, by every account, a most promising and delightful young lady and a joy to her family. A choral quartet consisting of three young ladies and one young man, I believe to be classmates of hers sang "Sing Me to Heaven" at the service. It was an amazingly poised performance and the first time I had heard the piece. It's been around 20 years since I last sang in a choir and I had lost interest, if not appreciation for such things; until this afternoon. Their particular arrangement was challenging, difficult and flawlessly delivered with great poise. It was a thing of great austere beauty in a time of crushing sorrow. I had the opportunity to thank them for performing and they provided me with the name and composer, so here I am. I'm confident that it was a blessing to all present.

I am the choir director at not one, but two high schools: Lakeside High School and Temescal Canyon High School, both in Lake Elsinore, California. I first sang SMTH in college at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, and of course, fell in love. Now that I teach high school and have enough competent singers to cover the parts, we will sing the song on our June 8, 2006 spring concert. Our intent was to celebrate through song, the life of a former TCHS chorus student, Ashley Bucklin, who tragically died in a car accident last fall. While singing the song on our concert, we plan to show a slide show (of photos of Ashley) all through her life. Yet, possibly the greatest thing that SMTH has done for my choirs is unite them. It is probably the ONLY song we sing where the entire choir is 100% focused and diligently working on every breath, vowel, phrase, cut-off... I love this song, and I love that we can share this glorious sacred music in a public school setting. I love how sacred music, more than any other, can unite our students. They truly love singing about God. Psalm 146:2 "I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being."

I'm a senior at Blake High School of the Arts down in Tampa, Florida and was, up until recently, under the amazing direction of Melinda Doyle. I was first introduced to this piece my freshman year when the mixed chamber choir was to perform it in New York City at the annual Heritage Festival of Gold. Although it was 3:00pm right after school had ended and all the upperclassmen were aching to leave and be home, they sang this song like all that was a lie. Still affected by my grandmother's death in my sixth grade year, this song opened my eyes as to how much music can really touch one person's life. Over the past three years, soon to be four, I can still say without a doubt that this piece is the one that has made me aspire to become a choir director in the future. The harmonies and words put together made me want to make this kind of music with high school students myself one day, and hopefully the majority of my future life. "Words can touch many, but music put to those words can touch so many more in a way we'll never even know."

How beautiful and lovely this song is! This song touches heartstrings in me that few songs rarely do... I feel myriad feelings. The prose of this magnum opus so elegantly speaks for itself.

Does a solo arrangement of this song exist ? - for voice (I'm a soprano) and piano or organ ? Thanks, Linda

No, sorry. I've been asked for other arrangements occasionally but the piece has always seemed so essentially a) choral, and b) unaccompanied that I've never been persuaded. Moving the harmonies to a keyboard and pulling the melody out of the texture for a single voice seems to me quite likely to rob the piece of its magic. No, while I appreciate the compliment inherent in the suggestion, I believe it will remain an a cappella choral work only.

My best friend died at age 18. Our church choir combined with our High School choir combined with alumni from both joined together to learn this song in one day to sing at her funeral. It brings tears to my eyes, but so much hope.

I sang this my senior year with my H.S. Varsity Mixed Choir for our UIL competition and it was absolutely gorgeous. I decided then and there that I was going have this played and sung at my wedding.

I was the director at Onalaska High School. Colleen past away the following September after our trip to Washington D.C. Many of the alumni came back to sing at the funeral. The current choir members combined with the former members, and the result was amazing. I had to stand on a ladder to direct. Every single kid felt the presence of Colleen. The power of SMTH goes far beyond the lyrics and notes. It gives strength to the weak. hope to the hopeless and joy to all who sing. My travel through life has been inspired by a beautiful poet. brilliant musician and the magic of their collaboration. Thank You Jane and Daniel.

I heard SMTH for the first time this past Sunday while driving to church in Mobile, AL. I duly noted the song's title, because while listening, it hit me so hard that I nearly drove off the road! I sing in a choir that does an annual ensemble performance of the Rutter Requiem, and I would love to include this piece next year. As "coincidence" would have it, since I heard the piece, two dear friends, one a choral musician and the other an organist/choirmaster, have passed suddenly. As my own personalized condolence, I have sent the link to the mp3 to both families, and they have been both stunned by the beauty of the piece and its unique suitability as a living legacy to their deceased love one. Thank you, Jane and Daniel - et lux perpetua.

Ann and I sing with the Apollo Chorus of Chicago. We met as chorus members, eventually falling in love and deciding to get married. Because the Chorus is such a part of our lives and our relationship together we of course wanted the Chorus to sing at the ceremony. The Chorus performed works by Mr. Gawthrop over the past couple years, including Sing Me to Heaven this year; it was a natural for us to include the piece in our wedding ceremony. Beautiful, moving, uplifting; I will never again hear Sing Me to Heaven without being transported back to the most important day of my life. Thank you! Mike

I am in National Honors Choir right now and i am very blessed to be siging this song under the direction of Mr. Paul Gulsvig(the director of the young woman with cancer in the first story)He told me her story and really made me realize how much music can heal people and how much better it can make one's life. After he told me this I really looked and my life and it was today that i decided to turn it around. A few weeks before Christmas i attempted suicide. I overdosed on an extremely leathal dose of pain killers and sleep medication. The doctor's said that it is a miracle that I'm alive. I have been struggling with depression and cutting for a little over two years and when Mr. Bald Man(as he referred to himself) told me this story it really made me think about the decisions i've made in the past. Even though I can't change me past I can however change my future. This story might have no relivence to a girl having cancer but to me it means the world. This story makes me want to live a successful life and help teach other people about life. It(along with Mr. Gulsvig) really inspired me to be the me i can be. And I am going to do just that. Thank you Mr. Gulvig and Mr. Gawthrop! You two men are life savers and even though I don't really know you I don't know what I'd be or where I'd be without you. Thank you again!

I'm in the same choir as the person before me... This song has touched me in so many ways, too many to list. Awhile back, I was very depressed, and thought about suicide often. Last year, I was really sick. Mis-diagnosed with leukemia, and lupus, amongst other things. So ever since then, I've treasured life. Mr. Gulsvig had told us these stories (along with many others), and each one pulls at my heart-strings. He has to be one of the best clinicians I've ever known... And I thank Mr. Gawthrop, Mr. Gulsvig, and everyone for sharing their stories... I have to say that music really is a universal language, full of emotion. It was one of the things that made me want to continue my life...

I am currently in the Dunn-St. Croix Honors choir and our guest clinician is Paul Gulsvig. He told us the story about the young girl, Colleen, from Onalaska and now every time I hear it I am moved to tears. It is a very wonderful song and if you have a chance to hear it, I advise you to.

When we sang this song in choir it really made all of us feel a lot closer. I don't know what it is but this is the most beautiful song I have ever sang in my life. Florece High School Fortes

I am a student at Eastfield College in Mesquite, TX. My freshman or sophmore year at Bishop Lynch High School, we performed this piece at our spring concert and at the Cajun Music Festival in New Orleans, LA. I fell in love with this piece. I am a sophomore in college and am working with a high school Choir for UIL on this piece. I know the students are going to LOVE this piece. This piece, when sung correctly, brings me to shake a lot within me. I love it alot. I will plan on being a Choral Director and will definitely teach this song. I hope everyone can enjoy this piece because it involves SO MUCH EMOTION and strength to me. I will admit, if I ever direct this piece, I will conduct it the way it was written and bring out the passion and emotion to this song. Thanks to Daniel Gawthrop, Jane Griver, and all others that made this song possible.

I am a current member of the Denton High School Chorale in Denton, Texas, which performed Sing me to Heaven last year for UIL and at the St. Louis convention, and I must say that I am honored to be performing this piece after having admired it from the audience last year. Just before the first rehersal in the fall when Mr. Baker gave SMTH to us, one of my friends who had been in the Chorale last year let me in on a piece of history. To segeway and explain a little bit, last year ('05-'06) was particularly tough on me and this same friend - we were both experienced members of the DHS Theatre, and were taken aback in Nov. '05 when our theatre director, the greatest man I have ever known, took his own life. The following Monday was a wreck, and the Chorale was called in for the first five minutes of class, then released simply because it was a day of mourning. In those five minutes, Mr. Baker reportedly had Chorale perform Sing me to Heaven as a tribute to Mr. Bailey. Returning to the first rehersal of our '06-'07 Chorale, Mr. Baker gave that song to us and had us run through it. As the music reached its climax, I remembered what Derek, the aforementioned friend, had told me, and it was all I could do to continue singing through the tears that had struck me at that moment. Until the day that I die, I will always cherish this song, for singing it is my own personal memorial to Mr. Bailey.

A few years ago when I was attending Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, Texas our director had us learn SMTH for our spring choral concert. Our choir learned it and everyone fell in love with it. About a year after that choir had graduated and moved on to other schools, one of the members spouse passed away. A large number of people who had been in the ensemble came back to Athens to sing SMTH at her memorial service. It was a beautiful selection to sing for such a wonderful girl.

we are sang this song in choir and i think its so pretty especially the bass and tenor their voices harmonize so well i love it

we sang this at a festival in 2000 and the audience was literally in tears its such a moving song but so beautiful at the same time

We are working on this song in my High School's a capella Choir right now; and it is so gorgeous, because we only have about three members in each of our sections and even though there are so little voices, the tone quality is excellent and we can really work on it. It's such a fantastic peice. <33333

We sang this song for a choir contest with about seven other highschools and we all sang it together...about 700 of us. It was so impowering to sing it and it really was one of the most emotional songs that I have ever sang for school because you feel the emotions as you sing about it. I really love it and I think that every choir should be required to sing it atleast once.

I forgot to add something above... it was in 1999 and I think it should be continued to be a school choir song.

I LoVE THIS SoNG IT IS So CooL WE SANG IT FoR CHoIR AND IT IS THE BEST SoNG THAT I THINK WE EVER SANG AND I REQUESTED IT FoR MY CHURCH CHoIR

I am a graduate of Onalaska High School clas of 2005. Under the direction of Paul Gulsvig, I have seen this song move grown men to tears, including myself. The way the lyrics and melody cure the weakest of hearts is a testament to the talent of Jane and Daniel. My sister was in the group that went to Washington D.C. She was very fond of Colleen and looks back on her moments spent with her and the choir often. There is no doubt in my mind that this song will continue to bloom and inspire others as it has for so many in the Onalaska Community thanks to Paul H. Gulsvig. Thank you for your notes and words!!!!!!!! - Jon

My first year teaching, the drama teacher, who was also my mentor, was hit and killed while out riding his bike. He was one of the most well loved teachers in the school, and it was devastating to the students. We had performed this piece that year, so we thought it appropriate to also sing it for his memorial service - hundreds of students told me later how this piece spoke to them in their time of grief. Thank you for sharing your amazing talent with the world - God has used this piece to touch many :).

I think that this song is so inspiring and I think that everyone should be required to sing it

I personally think that this is one of the few songs sang in a choir that can make a song inspiring and make a choir sound so good and talented and actually keep the audience listening. I think it is a sad song that expresses a lot of emotion but i also think it is a touching song about Heaven.

I have been in my Women's chorus for three years now. It is my senior year now and throughout the years we have sung many touching songs;however, Sing Me to Heaven has had a profound effect on me. This year, on January 14, 2007, a dear friend of mine passed away. She was just newly 16 years old and her death was sudden, for she had no illness. Every time I would sing this song in class I wanted to cry. The lyrics perfectly illustrated my emotions. My friend had loved music and was even displayed at the funeral with her mp3 player. I have learned the lesson SMTH tries to put across. I will never fail to hear this song and think of my dear friend.

I like this song a lot but I am in a four part choir and I think that at some parts the tenor part is written too high and I think that it sounds bad and pitchey even when they are singing the write note. I also think that the wonderful sound of the bass is not brought out in this song and is not showing the full potential that the bass have to sound extremely talented. I think that this song should be for only a girls choir because it does not bring out the male voices and when it does they sound strained. Don't get me wrong though I do think this is an amazing song.

I was a senior (c/o 1995) at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, TX and we were preparing for a benefit concert to raise funds for our trip to sing at Carnegie Hall in 1995. SMTH was the last song on the program. I remember being tired of the song and thinking "why are we singing this song?" The night of the concert, I could just seeing the tears in the eyes of the audience and the members of the choir. It then hit me that the words were more than just lyrics in a song. They were personified and lived in each of us. I have sung with several choral groups since graduting high school and I have suggested this song and it has never been accepted. I think SMTH should be in every choral directors Library and as someone stated above, When it is sung correctly and with the emotion in which it was written, the affect that it produces can be profoundly overwhelming. Thank you for SMTH.

I personally think this song is absolutely beautiful but the main reason I like it is the harmonizing of the voices when the tenors start off the choir when they say "...touch in me all love and passion pain and pleasure..." and the the sopranoes come, then the altos. That is my favorite part in the song because it is the turning point in the song for me. It becomes inspirational but still sad and mysterious. Everytime I hear it, and I know this is weird, it makes me think of an elder man at a funeral or cemetary greiving over his wifes tomb. Which is very sad but the song, to me, makes it seem like she's in Heaven and he knows whenever God calls him home he will see his wife again and the Angels are Singing him to Heaven. I absolutely love the song and its words will have meaning in my life, probably forever.

I had no idea that this song carried so much weight. From the very first moment that I heard this song, I instantly knew that it was to become a favorite. I initially heard this piece in a UIL competition in Beaumont, TX. (around 97-98)and had the privilege of singing it. It was priceless. The stories that have been shared is literally overwhelming, and I am grateful that such a site has been created so that these stories, can be shared and become a tool in themselves to heal.

It was during my 3rd year as band director at Kentwood High School (Covington, WA) that I first heard the piece. The band, orchestra, and choir were still all sharing the same rehearsal space in those early years and I was sitting in the office during my planning time when I heard the choir singing "Sing Me To Heaven". I stopped what I was doing and went to the door of my office totally transfixed. Tears began running down my cheeks. I actually went and got my best friend (who was the school's librarian and had a vocal music degree) to drag her down to hear it, too. She had the same reaction as I did. I have sung in many community choirs since then, always ask if we can sing it, and have never done it yet. I will keep asking! When my father, also a music teacher, passed away, I tried to get some of my friends together to sing it at his memorial service since it so totally summed up his life in music. Alas, I couldn't get one single baritone/bass to be there, so we didn't do it. I know this wonderful song has been blessed by God and countless people have been and will be continue to be touched by its message and harmonies.

We were lucky enough to have SMTH in our repertoire for the Salem Madrigals 1999 concert tour of Great Britain. Our final performance was at Westminster Cathedral in London and it suddenly dawned upon our seniors that this would be the very last concert that we would sing together. SMTH had been the focal point of the group for the entire year...the combination of words, harmonies, and inherent emotions always seemed to pull us together as one regardless of the situation. As the ladies sang the opening line that afternoon, we all looked at each other and understood, as one being, why we, as singers, do what we do.....because music lives in the most intimate part of our souls. As close-knit as that group had been all year, the richness of the emotional connection in that moment is something none of us will ever forget and all of us will cherish forever. Needless to say, tears flowed freely throughout the performance and very special group of young people were bonded together in a very special way by a very special song.

I am (well now was) in the Freshman Choir at Massapequa High School. We Performed this song at both A compition we went to and at our spring concert. This peice, i feel, has really brought us together. From the first day we picked it up i was in love with it. We dont have a Tragic story or anything but this Peice deserves to be reconized. Our Director felt like we werent compleatly grasping the meaning of the music because most of the kids only take the class to fulfill a required credit. so, he read us your story of SMTH. By the end i wanted to cry. I know that SMTH, with the help of our director, and your story helped us all learn to love music and love to sing. We took home first place at our compition and i know it is because of SMTH. but its not about wining the trophy. this peice has so much power and so much meaning that i was just glad that we got to sing it. I will always remeber this peice. Thank you for putting it out there for us!

I would like to to purchase a recording of Sing Me to Heaven, and have not been able to find one of the same quality as the MP3 on this site. Nothing else I've heard comes close to my memory of what it was like to sing this song. Which recording do you recommend, and where can I get it?

The recording that I have is by the Kansas City Chorale and the CD is called Alleluia: An American Hymnal. I downloaded it off of iTunes. This is such a powerful piece. I have always loved it. The way emotions are stirred by this song is the reason I love to sing.

The Church my famiy grew up in, bought this piece in memory of my grandfather Hugh Wilson (Central Presbyterian Church in downtown Atlanta). He sang in the church choir forever it seemed. My dad does today. I did for a bit. Everytime I hear it, I cry. It touches me so deeply. I miss him so much. He loved music just like I do. I will never forget the lyrics and sound for this at his memorial at Central. It really expresses what music meant to him. I will miss him forever.

Hello my name is Tianna and I attend Monacan High School. Well I was listening to this song on September 26,2007 (my birthday!!!) and I just started to cry. My classmates couldn't hear me but I think a few saw me crying non stop. The girl beside me asked me what's wrong but I coudn't answer her. I was caught up in the beauty of this song and I suddenly thought of my younger sister. My sister was diagnosed with lupus when she was 10years old. The doctors recently told my mother and me that the disease was affecting her internal system and her external apperance. The doctor also told us that the disease is at its final stage and that infection had spread to her kidneys. "She will soon die," the doctor told us. "We are doing and have done all that we can do..." My heart dropped and a small part of me died knowing and hearing that she will die. Listening to this song made me think of her leaving and going on a happy trip to heaven. So I would like to say THANK YOU, Mr.Gawthrop for giving me a sweet thought of her. Thank you so much because I am not afraid for her anymore. Thank You.

I am a junior at Skyline High School in Mesa, AZ. This year, I am in an advanced women's chamber called Con Brio, and we just had our fist school concert last night, in which we sang this song. The very first day we pounded parts on the piece, all 12 of us girls were in utter amazement that something with so much beauty and meaning could exist. I wish the entire world could have heard us sins this last night, because I believe we sang it so perfectly and beautifully. I was never more proud to be in choir. That piece will most likely be the pinnacle of my high school music career, and I thank you.

I live in Ohio in the summer and Florida in the winter except for a couple years we were stuck in Ohio by my husband's illness. I really missed the church choir (Vanderbilt Presbyterian Church) so couldn't wait to attend my first rehearsal this Fall (tonight). We rehearsed SMTH; it brought tears to my eyes as I remembered my dear husband's great love of music and God and how much this song represents our relationship leading up to his death last Dec. 11 (2006)--in my heart I dedicate this song to his memory.

I sang this piece my freshman year in college, 2004. Ever since then I have loved this song and it pops in my head almost everyday. The harmonics of the music sang in 4 part is what got me. I love to hear this piece performed. Thank you.

I am a minister of music in an Episcopal church in the Philadelphia suburbs. Our parish choir first used this piece in the fall of 2006 for a Music Recognition Sunday. At the time I felt it beautifully expressed how integral music is to every stage of life and faith for those who sing and those who love to listen. It was sung by a group of teenagers, their parents and a few other adult helpers to round out parts since our teen choir was quite capable but didn't cover all the parts. It was one of their favorite pieces that year. None of us imagined that we would live the whole life cycle of this song we loved in just eight short months when we lost one of these talented young teens, sixteen year old Chaz Hunsdorfer, in a tragic car accident. Amazingly these same teens, their friends, parents, and Chaz' own parents and sister all sang this beloved song at the close of a beautiful memorial service and celebration of Chaz' life this past July. This music has been an important part of our continued struggle with loss and the healing journey. Thank you Jane and Daniel for these most meaningful words and moving music.

I'm a senior at Richland Center High School in Richland Center,Wisconsin. Today was our honors choir for my school and 5 other neighboring school. My choir director told us yesterday that our director for this event would be Mr. Paul Gulsvig. At first I was skeptical and didn't want to go. But when I got there I was astonished. We started singing SMTH and Paul just brought it to live with his high energy. Like many have posted before me, he then told us the story about Colleen. He also told us many stories about his former students and so forth. His story will forever touch my heart. But it wasn't just his story that touched me it was your song as well. With his story and your song it was just a phenomenal feeling. It has taught me so many things that I can't begin to describe. With your song and Paul's energy and his passion for music has made me a better singer. Before I liked singing but now after all that has happened I have truly enjoyed and I now LOVE to sing. I'm going to cherish the time I spent with Paul Gulsvig and how well I enjoyed singing SMTH. It will live with me forever. So for that I thank you Daniel and Jane, and Paul Gulsvig. You forever changed my life

I'm a senior at River Valley High School in Spring Green, WI. Earlier this year, my choir sang SMTH in memory of my friend, Alicia Yanke. She died in a car accident in August. Although Alicia was a year older than me, I had many of my classes with her. Her funeral was tough for everybody who knew her because she was an amazing young lady with a great life ahead of her. Singing SMTH, brought us, the choir, closer to her and helped us to deal with this painful experience. After our first concert, I assumed I was done performing SMTH, but once I went to Honor's Choir at Prairie Du Chien, I realized I was incorrect. Paul Gulsvig told his story and we performed the song. I could hardly sing. I was choking back tears while I attempted to sing SMTH. But later that day at the concert, I felt Alicia's presence when we performed it and I was able to sing every note perfectly. I will never forget SMTH and the impact it has had on my life. Thank you Daniel Gawthrop for creating a lovely piece that I will cherish for the rest of my life. And thank you to Paul Gulsvig for teaching me about life and how one person can make a difference. To anyone dealing with death, SMTH is the song to take you through it. As I write this, I am at school the day after my classmate Courtney has died in a car accident. I find myself thinking of this song and remembering the passion I felt singing it. I will strive to make a difference and hope for a brighter future here at River Valley. This death marks the eighth death in three years at my school.

I am a classmate of Katie. I was also close to the girl which lost in August. We stood next to each other in choir. When I found out that she was gone I could not believe the fact she could be gone. Her funeral was the hardest thing I had done. Of course hymns were song and apart of the funeral but I could barely sing. It is something I have always loved and have been doing my whole life. When school started our director asked us if we would want to do a piece for her. I couldn’t imagine anything better except having her back. We chose this song because it sounded like what we could do for her. She is in our hearts but to sing that memory of hers to heaven, where it surely belonged. So we sang SMTH for our fall concert and I was crying while we sang it. I later found out that at the SWC Honors Choir we were going to sing it again I knew it was going to be hard to sing and it was I shed tears every single time we practiced it and more when we performed it. The song has been a way to help me heal from losing her. Our school has lost too many people due to car accidents and other things and this year it was my class who lost someone. For all those who have lost someone it’s a long healing process but I can’t think of a better way then through song. Thank you for it. I am definitely still healing but it surely helps to have music to guide me through it.

I was given the opportunity and honor of being part of a choir who sang this song for several directors interviewing for a position at Solano Community College in Northern California. Each candidate was given this beautiful piece and an allotted amount of time to use us (the choir) to bring out their interpretation. It is difficult to imagine how one could not be moved by this piece, if performed as it was meant to be. Helen Intintoli, I want to graciously thank you for giving me this experience which has truly touched and blessed my life.

My story is another sad story. About 3 months ago on Janurary 4th 2008, our school community lost 2 of the best people we have ever known. Dustin and Kyle were the greatest guys you will ever know and our community was destroyed by the lost of these two. In a town of 400 one death is a tragic but 2 and so young. I couldn't get over the loss of these two young men that I have known since grade school. Relief came when our high school chorus sang this song for the first time. Everybody was touched and tearing up in one way or another. I still cry everytime I hear it, but this song is a way to get my greif out. Sometimes it occurs to me, that they are in a better place, and this song helps me remember it more often than not. Sing Me to Heaven is truly Gods work...for everybody

We sang this peice my sophmore year in high school for competition. There were people sobbing in the audience and on the stage. And five years later I still love this peice of music with every inch of my heart. Whenever I am scared of nervouse I sing or even hum this song and it calms my soul. Words cannot describe any futher my abousolute love for every word and verse. Beautiful...Everyone should experiance this song at least once. It touches the soul and makes hearts swell.

My high school choir sang this at our graduation ceremony. You could hear a pin drop outside on the football field as everyone listened to this beautiful song. It has stuck with me for 10 years now and I get chills when I hear it.

My high school choir had 4 students take this song as a quartet to our state district competition, which they got rated a II on, really a pretty good score... and ever since I heard it, I loved it. I helped them practice it when the lead soprano was sick, so i got to personally feel the peaceful calm and shivers it brought. It really is a beautiful song and I've been wanting to sing it myself in performance with some of my other choir members. The tune is absolutely amazing, and it really does calm the soul when there's hard times. Tank you for sharing it with the world.

I am an 11th grader in Massapequa High School in NY. I sang this song for the final concert in 9th grade. Out of all the songs I have sang in chorus, this music piece really speaks to me. This song reminds me of all the hard times I went through that year and of the child actress Judith Barsi. She was in the movie The Land Before Time. She was murdered by her father and went through very difficult times being abused because of his jealousy of her fame. When I first heard of her death, I remember crying my eyes out. The story of the girl dying as the choir sang to her is completely emotional. Thank you very for creating this wonderful piece.

I sang this song my sophomore year my schools women's madrigals group. This song was so touching and meaningful, we sang it with passion and love. We cried nearly everytime we sang it. Our director left last year and it was the last song we sang with him, and it made us all cry. It is honestly one of the most amazing pieces of music I have ever sang.

This song was already in the repertoire when my 17 year old son, a member of the choir, died in a tragic accident in Peru. The choir sang it for us for his service, and it stayed in the repertoire for several years thereafter. It never failed to remind us of him. Thank you.

I am an admitted music nerd and yes I went to band camp. At this band camp, I joined the chamber choir. We sang this song at a performance the day a very good friend of mine had a fatal accident... However, since I was at camp, I didn't find this out for about a week... This song will always remind me of Kelly.

I sang this song with my school's select choir my sophomore year of high school. The moment I heard this piece, I was in love with the lyrics, the sound, everything. When we finally performed it, I looked into the faces of my friends in the audience, and they were completely stunned. The auditorium was silent after we performed. This piece is truly moving, and I hope I have the opportunity to perform this piece again someday. Thank you for such an amazingly beautiful piece.

I am the Asst. Choral Director at Duncanville High School in Duncanville, Texas. Our A Cappella Choir learned SMTH 2 years ago for UIL. They did a beautiful job. It became one of my favorite octavos. I often told the students that they'd best remember it so they could sing it at my memorial. My father, a courageous and good man, died on February 17, 2009. I asked my choir to come and sing, requesting that they sing "Give Me Jesus" and "Precious Lord." They were kind, loving and accomodating. Although they only had one day to present SMTH to the mostly 80% new students, they did so without my knowledge, and sang it in tribute to my family. My son is one of the choir members who had never sung the piece, but had it on his IPOD and loved it dearly. My precious students carpooled to my father's service and surprised us with this in addition to the other requests I'd made of them. Their voices were clear and stately at the church, and there was not a dry eye in the full congregation. It will be with me forever. Words cannot express the comfort and memory that SMTH has given to me. You have given me and mine an astounding gift.

This song touches me in ways that I cannot at most times believe. I sang this song my senior year at Central High School in Phoenix, Arizona. For the last two years of my high school experience, I was given a wonderful mentor. One who taught me to believe, lead, love, and inspire. Sadly, my high school career was ending. He gave us this song towards the end of my senior year. It brought me and our group closer together as our year was ending. It not only brought us closer, but it brought me closer to what I love, music. As I attend college currently starting my B.A. degree in Choral Music Education, I think back to the song reguraly. I've always been passionate about choral singing, but I always believed there was something else that detirmened that passion. Something else that drived that passionate other than pretty melodies and harmonies. When I really think about it, it's because I want to be closer to god. I've always been somewhat religious but always had problems with reguraly attending church or sticking to the religion. Every time I hear songs like this, I feel like I'm with god himself. If their our heavenly songs such as this in our mortal world, just imadgine what the songs sound like in heaven? This song brought me to love, it brought me to joy, and it brought me to an eternal gratefullness that can never die.

I'm a freshman at high school and involved in the select choir group we have, and we are singing Sing me to Heaven this year. Our director told us that a nearby district went through a loss of a member of their high school select choir a couple years ago. They sang this song at his funeral and that story makes me even more excited to sing this piece. Thanks for the brilliant work.

It's been almost five years since my partner died. Music was at the center of our relationship, and there was nothing more lovely than getting up on a Saturday morning, no needing to speak, and just playing our favorite music. When he died, the funeral director let me spend all morning with him playing his favorite pieces. What happens when you lose the love of your life? The trite answer is that you find another love. But it doesn't happen that way. That is the stripped truth that lies in my heart's sequestered chambers. The aching silence continues, and music is one of the things that can releive the pain: the lullaby, the love song, and the requiem.

Six years ago we sang this song in my high school varsity choir, and to this day the music lingers in my heart, It's the only song I remember by heart still, even after all this time. At 16, this song touched me profoundly, and the first time I sang it through, I was the only singer crying at the end, all through my solo. ("sing me to heaven") See, at 16, I was an emotional train wreck. I was suicidal, I hated life. Everything was dark and dank and held little purpose. I was only in choir because the teachers made me, I now know I have some pipes, and because I needed a extracurricular activity. So, I was some horrid emo kid with a range that would make an opera singer hate me, but couldn't care less about any of that. Until we sang this song through. The sheer beauty of the song brought me to tears. After that day, I wanted to sing more. I graduated with honors, barely getting a varsity jacket. I sang at church, in College. Now, The only people who enjoy my voice are my Fiancee and my Two year old daughter, but... If it hadn't been for a simple song that touched me so deep, I doubt I would have these two joys in my life. God blessed me deeply.

My father passed July 4, 2008. We loved singing together. He loved all the old hymns of the church. Even in his weakness, his voice was strong when he sang. His singing was always full of love and expressiveness. When his mother died years ago, he sang at her funeral. When he died last year, I gave him the same gift and "sang him to heaven." "Sing me to heaven" puts that into words in a beautiful way. I am a choir director and am doing this piece this year. One of my students passed away this summer. This performance will be in memorial of her at the concert, but of my father in my heart. Thank you for such a beautiful composition.

SMTH has been a long-time favorite of mine, since my Conservatory days at UMKC. Introduced to me in Heritage Chorale by Charles Robinson, I immediately fell in love with this piece and was enchanted by choral music all over again. As the music community tends to be in Kansas City, as close and intimate as the city is sprawled out. There are many lines that are blurred and many people that are connected through several ties. My high school choral director, Julie Cato, was also Conservatory trained, with Charles Robinson. She too loved this piece, as does her husband Jerry. When she died last week, Jerry asked that we organize a choir of her colleagues, choral directors and fellow voice teachers she had worked with during her brief (10 year), yet successful choral directing career at Fort Osage High School. We represented the music and the love Julie had for her students. About 30 of us rehearsed last Thursday for two hours and sang Thursday night at her memorial concert. We sang five pieces total and I sang "You'll Never Walk Alone" as I was her Nettie Fowler my junior year in high school in her production of Carousel. But, we ended with "Sing Me to Heaven." Carla Oliver conducted with Julie's baton. When we finished, we filed out of the auditorium silently and Carla set the baton on the piano. Losing Julie sent a ripple through the music community of Kansas City, Charles Robinson himself was in the congregation. Music is always a special bond we share with eachother. Maybe its the echo of heaven we hear and remember we the chorus of angels. Or maybe its the hope we have for glory and knowing in our core that music is the closest to heaven we can get while living in our humanity. Julie always said "love fierce, work hard, be happy."

We love the song A GAELIC BLESSING. We sing it every day. Tell me one thing, how'd you come up with it?

I'm in choir and I like the song A GAELIC BLESSING. We are currently reasearching the song. We've found some interesting things. It's a pretty good song, but has got some pretty weird words. I want to know to how'd you come up with it?

Your song A Gaelic Blessing is one of the most unique songs I have ever heard. It may be a very short song but it is a very pretty song.:)

When I was a Freshman in high school in 2007 (I'm a Junior now) I was one of a handful of students selected by my choir instructor to go to NBC Honor's Choir. One of the songs the guest director picked was Sing Me to Heaven. At first when we started practicing it I knew I enjoyed it but not as much as I do now. I believe it was a few days after NBC, and I had come home from school and slept and as I slept that song was playing in my dreams over and over and over again as if it were haunting me. I woke up around 6:00 or somewhere around there and I sat up in my bed looking through my window at the setting orange sun combined with the cold stillness of that November evening, th song still playing in my ears. Since then, that song has stuck with me forever and whenever I hear it it sends a chill through my body forcing me to reminisce about those happier times.

My father died on Oct.1, 2009. He held a music degree and loved playing his trumpet and singing, especially barbershop music. At the conclusion of his funeral we played "Three Men and a Melody's" barbershop version of SMTH. It was absolutely the most wonderful conclusion to a "Celebration " of my dad's life. His granddaughter, our daughter, sang this with her high school choir several years ago. Her director sings the tenor in "Three Men and a Melody". Thank you for this beautiful song. It will forever hold a special place in my heart.

Ragan & Taylor, I found the text for this traditional Celtic prayer on a T-shirt.

My father passed away last year, and The madrigal group i was in at the time sang this song at the service, It was one of the most beautiful moments of my entire life

my mom passed away 8 years ago and my choir is singing this and when we sing it i sing for her and it just brings tears to my eyes cause its such a great song it has so much meaning in so many people!

this song never fails to put tears in my eye's. i'd really like to thank the arranger for setting the words in perfect translation to tunes which really pierces the hearts of both listener's and singer's alike, remembering how God moves in all of us from birth to the time that we all go back to our Lord and Master. So many thanks po

Our high school choir is currently learning this piece. At first, we treated this song as if it was just another song that we sing over and over until we perfect it. Today, my choir director explained the meaning and feeling of this song and at that moment, life had a whole new meaning. I believe I speak for the majority of our choir in saying this song changed us all. For most, it was a small, but meaningful change. As for me, this song will stay in my heart forever, constantly reminding me how painful, but also wonderous life can be.

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After a class discussion of "Sing Me To Heaven," this email was sent to me by a student who had recently lost her grandmother. Mr. Z--------- I wanted to let you know that I really appreciated the discussion we had today in class about "Sing Me To Heaven" The last time I saw my grandmother that passed away was before Christmas when I went to pick up my mom to go shopping. She was helping my grandma make Christmas cards. Before I left she told me to please come back and visit her and that she was so proud of me. I promised her I would and thanked her. She died February 4th. I never visited her. My first reaction when she died was "Oh my God, I didn't visit her". My reason being, I was too busy with my friends and I put her as my last priority. After finding out about the death, it kept crossing my mind that, what if at some point before she died, she thought to herself that she missed me and she wished I was there? And that really killed me. What I get out of this song is a sense of forgiveness. It gives me an image of my grandmother telling me to forgive myself and telling me that she understands. The discussion we had today really helped me move that much more forward. I don't think this song will make me as sad anymore, instead happy. So I thought I'd take a minute to thank you for having us sing this for concert. You don't know how much it helped me out. So thank you.  

I first heard SMTH when my High School chamber choir sang it for my school's Open House back in Oct. 2008. The choir had been singing all day and I had gone up to hear them towards the end of our day, so their conductor decided to have some fun with the song and conduct it in a wacky way so as to keep the choir awake and alert until the end of the day. At first I thought the song was pretty funny, not knowing what it was supposed to sound like, but they later on went to perform it for a televised christmas concert and I got to really pay close attention to the beautiful lyrics and it just captivated me. I am a violinist and no offense to all the singers out there, but I didn't think much of singing until I heard this song. For the first time I was able to truely hear how so many voices could blend together and produce this one sound that transmitted the feeling of the lyrics of such a song. This song got me hooked on choral singing and now i just can't seem to get enough of it. It has given me a whole new perspective on music and all that it has to offer, whether it be through orchestral works or throgh song. Sing Me To Heaven has become a part of me and has changed me for the better.