Love Is by Tesfa Wondemagegnehu (Ledyard HS Chamber Choir)

“Love is love is love is love is love; cannot be killed or swept aside.” Composer, conductor, and social justice advocate Tesfa Wondemagegnehu composed “Love Is” in 2016. On the evening of June 12, he was still reeling from the news of the shooting at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, FL. When he heard Lin Manuel Miranda perform his now famous “Love is Love” sonnet as he accepted his Tony Award for Best Score for Hamilton, Tesfa started to break down in tears. As he heard the words “love is love is love is love is love…” he thought “Music is our response to violence. Music is our response to hate. Music unites us all.” “Love Is” combines text from that sonnet with a famous excerpt from I Corinthians. Tesfa does not sell this composition. Instead, he asks that performers raise money for an organization that promotes acts of love in their community. The Ledyard High School Chamber Choir chose to raise money and awareness for The Trevor Project, which is the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ) young people under 25. The Trevor Project offers accredited, life-saving resources to young people, schools, churches, and communities. If you are moved by this video, we ask that you consider making a donation to The Trevor Project. We also hope that you will share this video to help us bring a little love to people all over the world.