See the score.

Program Note for Symphony (2006-2007, rev. 2013)

The Symphony was commissioned by the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra through a generous donation from Gerald Bergman and Chris Smith. The piece was begun in 2006 and completed in December 2007. The premiere was presented by the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra on January 18, 2008 under the direction of Tomasz Golka. I later heavily edited and re-orchestrated the composition for a recording by the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Petr Vronsky that was released on PARMA Recordings.

The Symphony is programmatic in nature. The first movement is a set of variations based on three musical ideas that are presented at the beginning of the work: a rising chord progression, a melody introduced by the piccolo, and a descending chord progression first presented by the piano. The second movement, Scherzo Agitato, is in ternary form. The A section is fast, nervous, and violent while the B section is more gentle and highlights the wind instruments. After the A section is restated, the orchestra builds to a tutti that arrives at the climax of the work-an orchestral “scream”. The music calms down and leads directly into the third movement, Nocturne. The final movement begins in the lowest register of the orchestra, rises to a gentle climax and ends with a repeated motif that winds down like a music box.

The work lasts approximately 18 minutes.