Winner of the 2010 American Choral Directors Association Raymond W. Brock Memorial Student Composition Contest, the piece was premiered to great acclaim at the 2011 ACDA National Convention. Tennyson used the metaphor of an ocean sand bar to describe the barrier between life and death. In order to reach the shore, the ocean waves must crash against the sandbar, creating a sound that Tennyson describes as the "moaning of the bar." Composer Mills dramatically captures this text. An elegant, provocative piece for the mature choir.