duration: 10 1/2 minutes
for full orchestra
Excerpt of Old Growth, read by the UMKC Symphony Orchestra in Oct. 2022.
This piece is about growth and change. I was initially inspired by my love of forests, and the idea that many of the trees that make them up are far older than I am and will probably outlive me. Trees give us life and give many creatures a place to call home, so why do we continue to cut them down? In writing Old Growth, I crafted what I envision as the cyclical nature of forests and the trees within. They take root, sprout, grow, and they eventually die and decay away. I wanted to encapsulate these stages of a tree’s life musically. So, this piece is for all the trees: forgotten, cut down, just sprouting, and withering away.