In 1988 Lukas Foss composed a choral/orchestral work for Margaret Hawkins on the occasion of the Thirtieth Anniversary of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. This new work, With Music Strong, is based on texts by Walt Whitman which celebrate the spirit of music making. It is representative of the collaboration between Lukas Foss, Margaret Hawkins, and the management of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, whose foresight made the creation, performance, and recording of this new work possible.

A biographical sketch of Lukas Foss is included along with information about Margaret Hawkins and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Chorus. This study will also serve as a source of information for those who are interested in becoming familiar with the choral oeuvre of Lukas Foss as well as updated information about his life and work.

This study provides a detailed look at With Music Strong as well as an inquiry into the circumstances of its creation. It also presents the composition in a perspective which investigates prevalent trends of music composition in the Twentieth Century including the three style periods of Lukas Foss. An emphasis is placed on Foss' current Culminating Period as it relates to the synthesis of his own styles and those of other major composers. With Music Strong is exemplary of that synthesis.