A commission from the American Music Festival for a 15-minute work for soprano and orchestra inspired Knight to compose his first song cycle, “Life Is Fine.” Rogers, Rick. Poetry Inspires ‘Life Is Fine’ Series. The Sunday Oklahoman. June 29, 1997. Knight's setting of six Langston Hughes poems was premiered by the American Music Festival Orchestra. Wayne Lee Gay of Knight-Ridder News Service called the work “inventive and melodic…an eclectic, lyrical orchestral song cycle.” Gay wrote: “Life is Fine has the sound of a work that may well be a major addition to the American vocal-orchestral repertoire.” Gay, Wayne Lee. Knight-Ridder News Service. American Music Festival Puts Duncan on the Map. Fort Worth Star-Telegram. July 30, 1997.
