"Of Thee I Sing" was composed to mark the 25th anniversary of the April 19 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. At first, Leshnoff’s music depicts the fear and confusion of the event itself. When the chorus finally enters in the last third of the piece, Leshnoff uses the familiar tune of "My Country ‘Tis of Thee" as an ironic reflection on the tragedy. Leshnoff gradually transforms the tune, integrating it with the material that has come before and creating a conglo...