Gathering

Instrumentation: String Orchestra (Level 4)

Duration: 4’

Performed by: Pioneer High School Orchestra Purple

Commissioned by: Pioneer High School Concert Orchestras

Premiere: May 18th, 2022 at the Michigan Theatre in Ann Arbor, MI

Program Note: Gathering food. Gathering courage. Gathering leaves. Gathering opinions. Gathering donations. Gathering ideas. Gathering hope. Gathering joy.

There is strength in gathering together.

Composing “Gathering” was such a special experience for me, because most of the ideas in this piece are not my own! Since I live a few miles away from Pioneer, I had the gift of getting to come into the Purple Orchestra’s classroom. I presented them with a short melody and basic accompaniment pattern that could keep repeating forever, then asked the students to use the pitches on the page to come up with their own repeating “loop” pattern. We played around with layering the different ideas. It was messy, it was vulnerable, but I was so blown away by their creativity! I am thankful for the brave students who shared their beautiful ideas that I was able to “gather” in this short piece. I cannot imagine how stressful and lonely these past years have been for Pioneer students and their families, and I wanted to make a piece that celebrates the incredible gift it is to (finally) gather and play music in the same room.