We Are Made of Star Stuff (2025)
2025 - Program Note
Over the last several years I began writing this piece and spent time with it on and off, rather unsuccessfully. This work was something I had conceptualized in my mind but couldn't face having to put it down on paper - there was something introspective about the idea which I was not yet ready to work through. In late fall of 2024 my schedule began to thin out and my thoughts continued to turn to this work, based on a famous quote by Carl Sagan "we are made of star stuff". In the last 4 years life for many has changed drastically, and for myself (having lost both my last remaining grandparents as well as three beloved pets - all during Christmas time); an introspective and often sentimental thought that we all come from and return to the same place.
Typically my writing process moves quickly however, for this work I found myself pausing much more throughout its incubation period; partially due to commission work, travel, and teaching taking up much of my time. This work also proved an exercise in writing without the constraints of a commissioning organization while still adhering to my personal musical aesthetic (albeit, ever developing and changing). My hope is for both the conductor and listener to truly listen to the work with a singular focus; actively noting each musical device and any imagery it may create as it pertains to the universe and time, and our place within.
Completed December, 2024. Published 2025.
Over the last several years I began writing this piece and spent time with it on and off, rather unsuccessfully. This work was something I had conceptualized in my mind but couldn't face having to put it down on paper - there was something introspective about the idea which I was not yet ready to work through. In late fall of 2024 my schedule began to thin out and my thoughts continued to turn to this work, based on a famous quote by Carl Sagan "we are made of star stuff". In the last 4 years life for many has changed drastically, and for myself (having lost both my last remaining grandparents as well as three beloved pets - all during Christmas time); an introspective and often sentimental thought that we all come from and return to the same place.
Typically my writing process moves quickly however, for this work I found myself pausing much more throughout its incubation period; partially due to commission work, travel, and teaching taking up much of my time. This work also proved an exercise in writing without the constraints of a commissioning organization while still adhering to my personal musical aesthetic (albeit, ever developing and changing). My hope is for both the conductor and listener to truly listen to the work with a singular focus; actively noting each musical device and any imagery it may create as it pertains to the universe and time, and our place within.
Completed December, 2024. Published 2025.