Mesa Canyon (2020)

for orchestra - [15 minutes]

This piece was commissioned and premiered by the University of Cincinnati, CCM Concert Orchestra under Dr. Aik Khai Pung

Instrumentation

Program Note

Mesa Canyon comes from a dream set in a massive landscape akin to the Grand Canyon and follows the path of a dreamer and their interaction with a giant. The dreamer starts atop a red stone plateau basking in bright sun and unperturbed to the passing of time. In the distance, they see an enormous mesa pillar, much taller than the plateau they are resting on. The dreamer desired a more splendorous view and so descended from its resting spot to seek a path to that distant rock.
Along the voyage, the dreamer hears deep whispers echoing along the canyon walls. “Come to me and learn.” From the pillar, a behemoth shadow is cast, enveloping all the dreamer could see. They look up and see a giant, perched in its nest atop the mesa pillar. The giant looks down upon the dreamer and asks, “Would you like to fly?”. The dreamer, unable to resist such a proposition, eagerly climbs up to learn.
Once at the top the dreamer casts their gaze across the canyon, seeing where they were, where they walked, and where they lived. The dreamer takes a moment to digest the vista, but the giant is impatient. “You need to jump.” The dreamer nears the edge, afraid. The fall is perilous, a never-ending abyss. “Don’t hesitate, fall and fly.” The giant presses its finger to the back of the dreamer, and sends them off the cliff.
Air rushed to meet the dreamer’s face, but they weren’t falling, they were soaring! In that moment of success, the ground pulled them like a magnet, but there was no fear. The dreamer dived headstrong into the Earth, melding into the mesa floor. Out from the collision they emerged covered in stone, themselves a new giant born of the canyon.