Program Note: To say that I wrote this work on my own would not be doing justice to the incalculable contributions on the part of the members of Time for Three: Charles Yang, Nick Kendall, and Ranaan Meyer. Through four workshopping sessions spanning, we collectively transformed the piece into a unique collaboration that has personal meaning for us all and reflects all our artistic vision.

Having been inspired by Time for Three for years, writing for them was an absolutely marvelous opportunity to explore the narrative and emotionally driven chamber music I’ve been striving to write my entire adult life fused with the genre-bending creativity of Time for Three. As I started writing the work, my father had a health scare that led to a 24 hour time period during which my entire family thought our lives were about to change –substantially for the worse. It turned out to be nothing more than a terrifying fluke and my father remains in near-perfect health. This good fortune caused me to truly appreciate this current moment, not to count down to some more perfect future moment, but value what is happening now, no matter how imperfect it may be knowing that each day is not a given. This led me to Emily Dickinson’s poem “Forever – is Composed of Nows” which so beautifully articulates this very idea and upon which this work is based. The words are sung in a style that blends art-song with more popular idioms forming a narrative that leads to a celebration of life as it is, as we know it right now. I am unendingly grateful to Charles, Nick, and Ranaan for bringing this work to life.

Commisioned By: Time for Three

Premiere: anticipated for January 2023 at the Sun Valley Music Festival in Sun Valley, ID