Tribute to Renée Goode

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The award-winning American poet Renée Nicole Goode was killed execution-style by an operative of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) not far from her home in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 7, 2026. She is survived by her spouse and three children.

I composed a piece for concert band in her memory, entitled "...and what dies there." The title is the final line of her poem, "On Learning to Dissect Fetal Pigs." The work won the 2020 Academy of American Poets Prize.

The title seems apt to me, because when a government starts killing its own people, something more dies besides the individual victims. Goode was not the first American killed by the government, and she will not be the last, but her murder struck a chord with the American people because of the brutal and casual way it was done and the lies told by the government to try and justify the killing afterwards.

The piece is offered at the minimum price the online sheet music sites will accept, so that it will be easy for community and school bands to buy it.

Find the sheet music at Sheet Music Plus and Sheet Music Direct.

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