Verse I		Do you remember
		Back when we were young?
		So full of potential
		So eager for what was to come
		Our life’s adventure
		Spread out before our eyes
		And would you look at us now

Chorus		We’re like a couple of old soldiers
		Swappin’ stories of past glories
		Reliving all the days when we were young
		Wonderin’ who’s still around
		Saluting those who’ve gone
		Like old soldiers marching on

Verse II	The days of greatness
		The days we weren’t the best
		Some awful failures
		But other times when we were bless’d
		The hollow vic’t’ries
		The noble, proud defeats
		Well would you look at us now…

Chorus

Bridge		We can’t live in the past
		Time moves along
		But the memories
		Sometimes are so strong

Chorus

Coda		Old soldiers
		Old soldiers
		Old soldiers marching on

Like Old Soldiers

My arrangement of the traditional Assyrian Wedding Song "Hay Moyyalan" for orchestra and traditional instruments.

In some ways, this piece is an homage to Geoff Knorr, the composer behind the Civilization 6 game. As a huge fan of the Civilization franchise, especially as a musician, I came to this arrangement as an exercise to imagine what the Assyrian theme would be when playing the game.

Assyrian Wedding Song

"Letter to Oglethorpe," an aria from the new opera, Alice Ryley, by Michael Ching.

Linda Boianova, piano.
Recorded Live: 9/2015
Firstfruits Music.

"Letter To Oglethorpe" from Alice Ryley By Michael Ching. : LIVE RECORDING

LOVE WILL LIGHT THE NIGHT

A plea for comity. And my harmonica playing debut. Music and Lyrics by Michael Ching. Recorded by Tim Hildebrandt. 

What the fuss was all about

Scene iv:    past, city park- Ben, Beth
Beth finds Ben sitting on a bench in the rain.  At first he wont talk to her.  Then he asks why people don't care about each other (Why cant we feel the rain?).  Finally he says, I have AIDS.  Beth tries to comfort him

Out of the Rain 4

Elena Nikolaidi sings and aria from Weber's Euryanthe

1 Audio Track

Michael Ching is an opera composer/librettist, songwriter, and conductor. His opera SPEED DATING TONIGHT! has had over a hundred forty productions since its 2013 premiere. It is constantly being expanded and this is the place to hear the demos of new dater songs. This summer, Savannah Voice Festival will premiere his opera CINDERELLA'S ROYAL FEAST, a sequel to Rossini's opera. In 2024, the University of South Dakota-Vermillion premiered his opera, NOTES ON VIARDOT. It has subsequently been performed by Arizona State University and On Site Opera. His other sequel--to Puccini's GIANNI SCHICCHI is BUOSO'S GHOST. BUOSO is published by E.C. Schirmer Classical and has been performed by the Florida Grand Opera, Detroit Opera, OperaDelaware and several other companies. In 2020, the University of Alabama commissioned and premiered his opera RSBE. It is now on its sixth production. In 2018-19 high school students in Palm Springs premiered his opera, THRIVERS. His opera about Grant Wood, EIGHT WOODS AND A VAN, premiered at Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre.  Michael has written four one act operas for Savannah Voice Festival, including ALICE RYLEY and ANNA HUNTER, both about Savannah. Michael developed confidence in his ability to write words by trying to write songs. His favorite composer is George Gershwin. 

Most of these files are working files here for reference by the commissioning and producing organizations that Michael works with. There are also some singer-songwriter songs.