"In 2002, Daniel Hughes, the conductor of The Choral Project—an excellent chorus in San Jose, California—asked me if I could compose a new choral work for his group. Since the attacks of 9-11 I had contemplated composing a work to express the wish that so many of us had and still have, namely, the wish for world peace. Even though, in light of the facts, it was an unrealistic wish, I felt that perhaps, in my own small way, I could shine a small light in the darkness. I selected the text from the Mass Ordinary because it expresses exactly what I wanted to say: 'Et in terra pax'—'and peace on Earth.'"

"Mr. Hughes and The Choral Project premiered the work in 2003, and since then it has been performed by the Peninsula Cantare (2005) and also won first prize in the choral division of the American Pen Women National Composition Competition (2006)."