In the Water, I See My Dreams
SSA CHOIR
Grade 3.5-4
Christina Rusnak & Nora Piña
©Copyright 2025, Christina Rusnak & Nora Piña
Rusnak Music Press, (BMI)
All rights reserved, internationally
Photograph by Christina Rusnak, San Juan Island, Washington
©Copyright 2025, Christina Rusnak
Rusnak Music Press
In the Water, I See My Dreams
Duration ~ 4:00
Notes:
In Spring 2025, I was presented with this poem by Nora Piña to set to music. A fanciful work about water’s calming effects on our humanity, Ms. Piña’s work delves from observer of the water and its surrounding landscape to full participant, as one of the creatures in and around the water. It becomes her place of peace.
- Christina Rusnak 2025
Performance Notes:
The Lapping sound at the beginning and the middle can be achieved beginning with the tongue against the roof of a closed mouth, and then opening wide, resulting in a juicy sound without the harsh articulation of smacking.
The Director is free to shorten or lengthen these sections as they see fit.
In the Water, I See My Dreams
By Nora Piña
Fish playing in the stream all around looks so serene
The lake’s beauty reflects on to me
In the water, I see my dreams
Ripples on the lake reflect the lazy days
All around I see the quiet and the free
The fish and birds speak to me they tell me about their ventures out the sea
All I want all I seek the adventure waiting for me
If I feel lonely I say it back then they sing to me
When I die, they’ll make me fly then I’ll feel the peace
Score Nora Pina
Soprano 1 Soprano 2 Alto Piano
In the Water, I See My Dreams
Lapping water slowly - uneven
Lapping water 2 quick laps, then break; repeat sporadically
Lapping water uneven medium laps
Christina Rusnak
The lake's beau
The lake's beau
The lake's beau
The fish and
birds, they speak to
The
birds, they speak to
The
birds,
80
Feel free to add another measure of lapping if desired.
poco rit.
Lapping water slowly - uneven a tempo
Lapping water
2 quick laps, then break; repeat sporadically
Lapping water uneven medium laps
take
When
When
When
They'll
When
They'll
Choral Works
Level 5 +
Dearly Beloved Nine Voices (optional 18 voices): 4 sopranos, 1 mezzo soprano, 4 Altos
Queridos Amados Nine Voices (optional 18 voices): (Dearly Beloved in Spanish) 4 sopranos, 1 mezzo soprano, 4 Altos
Dearly Departed Nine Voices (optional 18 voices): 4 sopranos, 1 mezzo soprano, 4 Altos
Querido Difunto Nine Voices (optional 18 voices): (Dearly Departed in Spanish) 4 sopranos, 1 mezzo soprano, 4 Altos
Liberty’s Light Eight Voices (optional 16 voices): 4 sopranos, 4 Altos
CHRISTINA RUSNAK
Passionate about composing about the human experience, composer Christina Rusnak works at the intersection of place, nature, culture, history and art to integrate context into her music from the world around her. A storyteller, she seeks to convey something meaningful about the human experience to both the audience and performers.
An award-winning freelance composer living in the Pacific Northwest, Ms. Rusnak composes for diverse instrumentations with lyrical lines and organic rhythms and textures. Her repertoire ranges from elementary to professional levels and includes chamber ensemble, orchestra, wind band, choral works and solo works, as well as jazz, electro-acoustic works, and film. Rusnak’s work has been commissioned and/or performed by talented musicians across the country and internationally. Recent awards and honors include the 2023 Bronze Global Music Award for Voices of the Land and the 2024 American Prize 2nd Place Orchestra for The South Pass.
An advocate for New Music, Rusnak currently serves as president of the International Alliance for Women in Music. Her works are available from Amazon, Naxos and Parma Recordings. Scores are available through her website http://christinarusnak.com and distributors and can be viewed via ISSUU .
NORA PIÑA
Nora Piña is a vocalist and multi-faceted creator. In 2021, she collaborated with Ms. Rusnak on A Walk in a Field for Four-hands piano, and commissioned Rusnak for Tranquil Waters in 2023. While her primary focus is music, both singing and creating, she is beginning to express her creativity through words. In college, she hopes to study both vocal performance and audio technology.
http://christinarusnak.com