PROGRAM NOTES

Picture yourself alongside a serene lake surrounded by forests.  The smell of damp leaves and wood fills the air as fog mists over the water.  These were familiar scenes of New England Music Camp at the Snow Pond Center for the Arts, where I enjoyed six summers and made some of my best friends.  My composition was inspired by the beauty and unforgettable memories that I experienced at NEMC.

 

After most evening activities and concerts at NEMC, campers and faculty put their arms around each other and sang “Peace of the River.”  Seeing how music brings people together really inspires me.  I quote this song several times, the first in the opening two bars. There is a hidden section where the melody is backwards, which represents that NEMC is now in my past.  Because it was the camp’s 83rd season, my piece is 83 measures long with a tempo of 83.

 

The morning and evening reveille calls are written in the trumpets, one playing slightly after the other, which represents the bugle echoing over the hill.

 

Seeing the maestro conduct my piece in one of his final concerts before his retirement was such a memorable experience, as it was also my last summer at NEMC.  When I reflect upon this magical place, I am filled with nostalgia.