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Program Notes
The idea for this music came from a piece I wrote a few years prior entitled There and Back. That work is a musical palindrome, with several themes that return in reverse order after a slower middle section. While writing, I felt as though there was something more to be said about the central "There" (the “slow” section) of There and Back. The melody from this section gave birth to For When We Arrive.
So often, we begin moving toward a place, event, or goal, but when we arrive, things often look different than we imagined. What if the place we ended up wasn't what we originally envisioned, but we still found beauty in it?
In the beginning of For When We Arrive, the music repeatedly almost reaches a satisfying arrival. However, with each swell, we fall short of our anticipated destination. At measure 45, we seem to give up and restart, trying our luck in a new key.
Suddenly, the music gains much-needed momentum, supporting a new melody. Perhaps this new melody, which we had never seen before, is the true destination.
At measure 66, we receive a taste of resolution as we reflect on where we've been. There is a sense of relief that we are on the right path and an anticipation of more to come.
The music finally reaches a satisfying arrival at measure 78. While the piece had been building around earlier material the entire time, we now realize that the melody we had been waiting for all along was one we had to discover along the way.
For When We Arrive demonstrates the beauty that can come from being open to new, opportunities and ideas. Questioning, and even sometimes altogether abandoning our plans, convictions, or beliefs can often lead to the discovery of something wonderful.
Those familiar with my pieces Refractions and Light Descending will find that these works borrow the eighth note motif from the final measures of For When We Arrive. I find that this suits the story of the music well, with a distinct connection between There and Back (one of my first ever commissions) a development through For When We Arrive, and the unexpected inspiration for two new works that propelled me into a new era of composing.
