...Do you really wanna know?... (2021)

Program Notes:

This piece is a reaction to the text “American Dream” by Tytianna Wells. In her poem, Wells addresses many inequities and injustices black people face in America, the perpetuation of these ideas, and the necessary action to confront them. The text carries emotions ranging from frustration, disappointment, jaded exhaustion, to cautious optimism. My piece does not try to recreate Tytianna’s text line for line but instead creates spaces in which this array of emotion can be expressed, experienced, and reflected upon.

The piece begins with a melancholic line played by the violas and various winds. As the piece progresses, other voices begin to join and overwhelm the opening line. This culminates in a great release of energy and a brief moment of repose before the piece lurches forward into an aggressive finale. The line from the opening of the piece is presented in full force and with renewed vigor by the horn section against a scathing snare drum solo.

As a person of mixed-race (my father is black and my mother is white) this subject is particularly important to me and manifests in various ways at the core of my other work. Many thanks to Tytianna for her powerful work and to the Louisville Orchestra for this opportunity.