TECUMSEH — This weekend offers new opportunities to hear a song written for Tecumseh's bicentennial.
"Through All These Years," written by Phil Devaney, had its premiere May 5 with the Tecumseh Pops Orchestra and Community Chorus. The chorus will perform it again at the "WTCA Radio Show" Sunday, July 21. There are two shows, at 3 and 7 p.m., at the Tecumseh Center for the Arts, 400 N. Maumee St. Tickets are free but need to be reserved in advance online at thetca.org, by calling 517-423-6617 or by visiting the box office, which is open from noon to 5 p.m. Thursday and Friday and one hour before the showtimes.
The lyrics focus on the pioneers from the eastern United States who came to the area in 1824 and those who helped escort people who were escaping slavery in the South along the Underground Railroad as well as aspirations for the future.
"It turned out remarkably well," said Bill Abbott, director of the Community Chorus.
The idea for a bicentennial song came from the orchestra and chorus' board of directors, Abbott said. He then asked Devaney, who is a member of the chorus and the pastor at Britton Bethel Baptist Church, about whether he would like to be involved. Devaney had written a song 10 years before for his church's 75th anniversary, and he thought maybe he could repurpose the tune.
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"I had the tune already and I played it for Bill, and he liked it," Devaney said. "And so from there I had to totally change the lyric and fit the tune to the new lyric."
He also had to write out the notes and rhythm, as all he had written for the church's anniversary were the melody and chords.
Devaney researched Tecumseh's history to find ideas for the lyrics.
"I was very intrigued by the fact that they had been engaged with the Underground Railroad," Devaney said. "The Civil War has always been a thing of interest because my ancestors were in Springfield, Illinois, at the time of the Civil War. So that's Lincolnland, right? And so my great-grandfather and his two sons joined the military, and he died in the Civil War at the Battle of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, or Stones River."
Around Christmas last year, the ensembles asked him about arranging the music so that the Pops could be involved.
"That was a labor of love," Abbott said.
"It was a labor of love that was incomplete," Devaney said.
"He had to orchestrate just based on the instrumentation that we had and then figure out how we blend in," Abbott said.
This was the first time Devaney had orchestrated a piece since college. He has a diploma in church music from the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, a bachelor's degree in music composition from Toccoa Falls College in Georgia in 1991, and he's done graduate work in both music composition and music education.
"The orchestration became its own arrangements with other motifs going into it," Devaney said.
During rehearsals, there were some consultations about possible changes to the piece.
"Consultations were more about the lyric," Devaney said. "I had left off the word, the name Tecumseh. It wasn't anywhere in there. And we found a place to fit just perfectly."
Devaney has not heard the piece live as if he was in the audience because he was singing in the chorus when it debuted in May. He said his wife recorded it.
"It's nice to hear the piece," he said. "I probably am very critical of when I hear my stuff being performed."
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This was the first time Abbott was able to rehearse a new piece of music, other than a few graduation pieces he wrote when he was teaching in the Garden City schools.
"It was exciting for me to be able to look up at him and see him singing his song," Abbott said. "It gave me a very wonderful feeling of appreciating his accomplishments."
Switching from composer mode to singing the song in the chorus gave Devaney a different perspective on the piece.
"There's this feeling of, OK, now I'm singing the bass line. How come I didn't give the basses any low notes? I like low notes," he said, laughing.
Being able to hear the song performed has allowed Devaney to tweak some of the vocal parts after he heard some things that didn't sound quite right.
"It probably was something that won't bother anybody but me," he said.
"There was one chord that I questioned all the time. I just figured, well, you wanted this kind of a sound," Abbott said with a laugh.
"You probably should've said something, Bill," Devaney said, joining the laughter.
"That's the thing I love about original pieces like this is the fact you start off with nothing, and then all of a sudden it comes to this giant, blossoming tree that's, like, you've started out with a seed that does this come from lyrics to this to orchestration and finale of performing," Abbott said.
They're looking forward to sharing the piece with the community again.
"It was a lot of fun to put together. It really was," Devaney said. "And I learned a lot about Tecumseh that I didn't know in doing research for it, which is always fun."
— Contact reporter David Panian at dpanian@lenconnect.com or follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @lenaweepanian.
'Through All These Years'
Lyrics written by Phil Devaney:
They traveled together in eighteen twenty-four,
Their journey was a dangerous one, but it was worth fighting for,
They shared their joys and sorrows, their hopes and their fears
to build a place that would last for years and years.
Just a few years later many stood up for their faith
That all were created equal regardless of their race.
They were a catalyst in Michigan in the underground railroad,
They hid slaves from their captors and helped them ease their load.
Through all these years and its only just begun,
Through all these years look at what they won;
In faith they took their journey through danger far and near
They dwelt here together for years and years.
Now as we gather, we remember days gone by,
The founding of Tecumseh and the values they held high;
May we share our joys and sorrows, our hopes and fears
As we sojourn here together through all these years!
Through all these years, and it's just begun,
Through all these years, just look at what we've done;
In faith we take our journey through dangers far and near,
We are dwelling here together through all these years.
The future is unknown to us, what will happen in this place,
But we seek to preserve as we continue our race.
How we dwell together will make all the difference;
Will we do unto others as we would have them do to us?
Through all these years, and its only just begun
Through all these years, just think what will be done.
In faith we'll take our journey through dangers far and near,
We'll be dwelling here together through all these years.
Two hundred years, and it's only just begun
Two hundred years, just think what will be done
Through all these years!
If you go
WHAT: WTCA Radio Show
WHEN: 3 and 7 p.m. Sunday, July 21
WHERE: Tecumseh Center for the Arts, 400 N. Maumee St.
TICKETS: Free, general admission; must be reserved online at thetca.org, by calling 517-423-6617 or visiting the box office, which is open from noon to 5 p.m. Thursday and Friday
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