Category: Choral Music
Instrumentation: SATB chorus, children’s chorus, organ, and piano
Text / Source: Text by Lisa VanAuken, based on a poem by C. P. Cavafy

Journey to Ithaca is an uplifting choral work for SATB chorus, children’s chorus, organ, and piano. With a text by Lisa VanAuken based on C. P. Cavafy’s poem Ithaca, the work preserves the central message of the original poem—that the gift of life lies in the journey—while removing the mythological references to create a more direct, lyrical, and accessible text.

The piece is cast in rondo form, reflecting the repetition of the text and the recurring idea of the journey itself. Folk-like in melodic character, the music also features frequent modulation, carefully prepared by the organ and piano accompaniment. The work builds to a dramatic, full, and exciting conclusion, making it especially effective as the closing piece on a choral program.

Written for children’s chorus with adult SATB choir, Journey to Ithaca is well suited for inspirational concerts, school and community choir collaborations, and programs centered on growth, hope, and life’s passage. Its folk-like melodic style, clear recurring form, and energetic ending make it both approachable and rewarding for performers and audiences.