During her tenure as Chair of the American Harp Society Board, Barbara Lepke-Sims became increasingly aware of the need to encourage composers to write refreshing new repertoire for the harp. The goal of her collaboration with John Kuzma was to create a major work for harp and treble voice(s) that would be accessible to audiences and musicians alike. The structure of The Lamb is, of course, reminiscent of Benjamin Britten's A Ceremony of Carols, which pairs middle English Yuletide texts with Britten's 20th century music. "If you are British, A Ceremony of Carols is very accessible because those old texts are part of the culture," said Kuzma. "I wanted to create a similar piece in the American vernacular, using Christmas poems, like William Blake's The Lamb, which I had known as a child." The musical inspiration for The Lamb also springs from Kuzma's childhood. The classic French Noels upon which the work draws its major themes were the basis of some of the great Masses that Kuzma learned in his youth as a choirboy. "It is my hope that through this work many hearts will be touched and God will be glorified." — B. Lepke-Sims