A choral piece inspired by interviews from the “It Gets Better Project.” It begins with individual expressions of self-hatred and despair that lead bullied and isolated young people to contemplate ending their lives, but moves to a collective assurance from their older counterparts who, having survived this storm, recount how much better their lives are and how grateful and glad they are to be living them. Originally written for the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, “Testimony” has been widely performed by both men’s and mixed choruses and is available in both TTBB and SATB form.
About the It Gets Better Project™
Growing up isn’t easy. Many young people face daily tormenting and bullying, leading them to feel like they have nowhere to turn. This is especially true for LGBT kids and teens, who often hide their sexuality for fear of bullying. In September 2010, syndicated columnist and author Dan Savage created a YouTube video with his partner Terry Miller to inspire hope for young people facing harassment.
Since its founding, The It Gets Better Project™ has become a worldwide movement, inspiring more than 50,000 user-created videos viewed more than 50 million times. To date, the project has received submissions from celebrities, organizations, activists, politicians and media personalities, including President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Adam Lambert, Anne Hathaway, Colin Farrell, Matthew Morrison of Glee, Joe Jonas, Joel Madden, Ke$ha, Sarah Silverman, Tim Gunn, Ellen DeGeneres, Suze Orman, the staffs of The Gap, Google, Facebook, Pixar, the Broadway community and many more. For us, every video changes a life. It doesn’t matter who makes it.
For more information, visit http://www.itgetsbetter.org.