Silver Linings [CF:114-42377]

SILVER LININGS for alto saxophone and marimba was inspired by the unexpected blessings discovered in the midst of worldwide hardship during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown: more time to spend with family or on creative endeavors; resurging animal populations and decreased pollution; etc. In the composer’s own words, “SILVER LININGS consists of two movements. Groundhog Day, the first movement, is slow and brooding. It embodies the strong feeling of déjà vu that so many of us experienced early on in lockdown, as we seemed to live the same day repeatedly with minor variances to our schedules.…[The musical gestures] depict how our lives were reduced to the basic building blocks of life – wake up, eat, work, eat, sleep – as our daily activities and livelihoods were suddenly knocked down. The same gestures are utilized in the energetic second movement, Making Lemonade, except that they are spun around to reveal their silver linings…. Among the seeds of despair are also found seeds of hope, and the saxophone and marimba explore this hopefulness with great vigor and excitement.”