Stories of Sorrow and Strength: A Suite in Two Movements
I. Elegy for the People of Tomorrow (00:00)*
II. Fight for Our Soul (04:04)*
*Timecode corresponds with audio recording below.
Category: Orchestra, Large Ensemble
Year Composed: 2022
Instrumentation: French Horn, Timpani, 1 Percussionist, and String Orchestra
I. String Orchestra
II. French Horn, Timpani, Gong, Tenor Drum, Bass Drum, and String Orchestra
Duration: 8 minutes
Press Release: American Composers Orchestra Announces Selections for National Earshot Readings & Residencies
Program Notes
Commission: Dr. David J. Proctor, Distinguished Senior Lecturer of History and Classical Studies, Tufts University.
Premiere: ROCO. American Composers Orchestra EarShot Readings with ROCO. Kinder HSPVA Theatre (Houston, TX)
Additional Performances: President’s Phi Beta Kappa Ceremony. Tufts University (Medford, MA); Live lectures Europe to 1815; The Byzantines and Their World; Empresses, Saints, & Scholars: The Women of Byzantium; Passion, Power & Piety: The Voices of Byzantium. Tufts University, Department of History.
Awards: American Composers Orchestra EarShot, ROCO, Winner / Selected Composer (2023); Masterclass with Derek Bermel, Berklee College of Music, Selected Composer (2024).
While it is easy to consider these events as tales of antiquity, similar struggles, conflicts, and tensions are still prevalent today. The feelings of fear, suffering, pain, and grief are universal. The ability to find strength and to persevere in the face of hardship gives us hope.
For an extended version of the program notes, please click here.
Stories of Sorrow and Strength: A Suite in Two Movements addresses two defining moments in the history of the Byzantine Empire: the Fourth Crusade, and the siege and fall of Constantinople. Between 1202 and 1204, Western knights attacked and pillaged the city and habitants of Constantinople in a bloody attempt to suppress followers of the Eastern Orthodox Church; on May 28, 1453, Constantine XI Palaiologos rallied and united his soldiers in his last-documented speech, preparing them for what would be their final battle, ultimately leading to their defeat and to the demise of the Empire.
Stories of Sorrow and Strength: A Suite in Two Movements
I. Elegy for the People of Tomorrow (00:00)*
II. Fight for Our Soul (04:04)*
*Timecode corresponds with audio recording below.
Category: Orchestra, Large Ensemble
Year Composed: 2022
Instrumentation: French Horn, Timpani, 1 Percussionist, and String Orchestra
I. String Orchestra
II. French Horn, Timpani, Gong, Tenor Drum, Bass Drum, and String Orchestra
Duration: 8 minutes
Press Release: American Composers Orchestra Announces Selections for National Earshot Readings & Residencies
Commission: Dr. David J. Proctor, Distinguished Senior Lecturer of History and Classical Studies, Tufts University.
Premiere: ROCO. American Composers Orchestra EarShot Readings with ROCO. Kinder HSPVA Theatre (Houston, TX)
Additional Performances: President’s Phi Beta Kappa Ceremony. Tufts University (Medford, MA); Live lectures Europe to 1815; The Byzantines and Their World; Empresses, Saints, & Scholars: The Women of Byzantium; Passion, Power & Piety: The Voices of Byzantium. Tufts University, Department of History.
Awards: American Composers Orchestra EarShot, ROCO, Winner / Selected Composer (2023); Masterclass with Derek Bermel, Berklee College of Music, Selected Composer (2024)
Program Notes
Stories of Sorrow and Strength: A Suite in Two Movements addresses two defining moments in the history of the Byzantine Empire: the Fourth Crusade, and the siege and fall of Constantinople. Between 1202 and 1204, Western knights attacked and pillaged the city and habitants of Constantinople in a bloody attempt to suppress followers of the Eastern Orthodox Church; on May 28, 1453, Constantine XI Palaiologos rallied and united his soldiers in his last-documented speech, preparing them for what would be their final battle, ultimately leading to their defeat and to the demise of the Empire. While it is easy to consider these events as tales of antiquity, similar struggles, conflicts, and tensions are still prevalent today. The feelings of fear, suffering, pain, and grief are universal. The ability to find strength and to persevere in the face of hardship gives us hope.
For an extended version of the program notes, please click here.