Instrumentation

fl(=picc). cl(=b.cl) -perc. -pno. -vln.vcl.

Performance History

• 16 July 2016, Colby College, Waterville, Maine.

Program Notes

While nearing completion of Toward a Brilliant Light I came upon this quotation of Leonard Bernstein that seemed to say everything that needed to be said:

"We must never forget that music is movement, always going somewhere, shifting and changing, and flowing, from one note to another; and that movement can tell us more about the way we feel than a million words can.”

The original goal was to write a piece that started in a very static place and ended in a very lively one. Subconsciously however, the music I was writing was also taking on a more emotionally charged role than originally planned. As the music changes it seems to move from a very dark place emotionally to a very light place.

To me, the title does not refer to anything specific. The ‘brilliant light,’ so to speak, functions as a metaphor to the gratifying emotional place that the music strives towards. At the same time, the ending of the piece undoubtedly has a definite luster about it which certainly could be taken more literally.