Program Notes

​

    Which Way the Water was composed in the last months of 2021. Water, often in the form of rivers or functional waterways, was unknowingly a primary inspiration for my music throughout the year, manifesting in the works Of the Lower Patapsco about the Patapsco River along the Baltimore waterfront, Yough which detailed a bike trip along Pennsylvania’s Youghiogheny River through Ohiopyle State Park, and an expansion of the violin/piano piece Seabird, situated on the beach of Ocean City, Maryland. The deeper meaning of this inspiration may surface in later years with the benefit of hindsight, but at present this work feels a symbiosis of the year’s reflections and concerns, representing increased attentions on narrative, harmony, texture, and cohesive balance. Water manifests logic and/or irrationality depending on its context, influencing the flow of a creek at will or the flow of nature by drying up where it is needed most. Perhaps our base need for water is a force in our creativity, representing an interest in innocuous innocence or a primeval pressing for purity. Whichever way it flows, I find myself drawn to water, and its presence in my music is welcome.

January 4 2022