Program note

The "Serenade for Strings," while not a true serenade, borrows from the Romantic repertoire of slow string movements. When I composed it, I devoted more time to it than I've spent on most of the music I have written since then. This was probably because I felt constrained by my decision to restrict the work's language to that of the late Romantic period. Wanting to be true to the sounds of Mahler and other composers of his age, I found myself constantly trying to develop the piece inwardly, rather than trying to advance the musical language in any way. As a contemporary composer, I don't think that writing music as though it were 1890 is the best solution to developing modern yet accessible work. But the exercise of writing this piece has taught me a lot about what it is that contemporary audiences find so appealing about late Romantic music, and this experience has influenced the way I write music as I find my own voice.

Awards

Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Competition for Composition, Senior Division, second place in the national competition: 2006-2007. First place/winner in Eastern Division competition. First place/winner in Massachusetts competition. Selected for performance on "From the Top," a National Public Radio program.

Performances