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PROGRAM NOTES

 This is not the piece I intended to write. When I wrote the proposal for this piece to Tetractys New Music, I had envisioned writing about the infinite colors that are in space. Instead of trying to explore and grasp the complexities of what was beyond our solar system, I turned to another complexity that I should have addressed for an unhealthy amount of time. 

Depression.

 Out of the Dark…into the Light begins as an abstract of not only my idea of “waves of depression” but of how I used to write: muddied and confused. The abrupt stop of the “waves” comes as an acceptance of my depression. But accepting what you’re going through does not mean that depression simply disappears. While there is a constant drive descending downwards, the high voices climb higher and higher, you’re feel as if you’re being pulled into two separate directions. 

The second part of the piece is thin and softly reminiscent of the beginning of the first part: between the piano pedaling and the bass clarinet calling out again. The piece slowly transitions to just choir with percussion effects. For many people, seeking solace in faith has been an answer to combat depression and to find other purposes in life. After the choir, a sense of energy and excitement comes with a flurry of notes that blossom from the instruments, replacing what was the low and muddled waves. 

We all, at one point or another in our lives, will find ourselves moving “out of the light…into the dark.” It is my hope that we start a dialogue about what we are going through with our friends, our family, and those we trust so we can move “out of the dark and into the light.”

Thank you to my friends and family for making this piece possible. These have been an incredibly difficult two and a half years and I couldn’t have done it without you all.

“…out of the blue…into the black.”

-Neil Young from Hey Hey, My My

“Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if only one remembers to turn on the light.”

-Albus Dumbledore from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

excerpts of
“Out of the Dark…Into the Light”

Performance History

• January 2021 TBD

  • WORLD PREMIERE