Celebration—Program Note

Celebration was written for my wife, Rebekka, on the occasion of our first wedding anniversary. The piece is by turns joyous, soulful, and intense reflecting our long and vital relationship. The three sections of the work form a fast-slow-fast pattern with an emphasis on lively rhythms in the outer sections and a soulful quality in the center section that begins with a bassoon solo and gradually intensifies bringing back the faster tempo. The instability at the beginning of the third section is brought to an abrupt halt by slow descending minor thirds recalled from the middle section. This bit of introspection pulls the work back together and leads to a lively finish.