CITY LIFE

for chamber orchestra

Composed: 2026
Premiere:  Cleveland Chamber Symphony, April 19, 2026, Cleveland, OH
Duration:  11 minutes
Instrumentation: 2111; 1110; perc; strings

PROGRAM NOTES

I. IMAGES
II. IN THE STREETS

Though planned with musical motifs in mind, I became aware that the motives might have been influenced by my thoughts and preoccupation with the struggles going on at that time in Minneapolis. The first movement, Images seems to begin with musical images of dawn in a city - the quiet calmness of dimly lit streets - occasionally a person walking along. But there is an underlying tension, possibly the feeling that things might be happening that day.

The second movement, In the streets, was planned using certain musical motives and rhythms. But the underlying feeling in the music seems to me to portray people on the move in the streets. It could be a festive parade, or it could be a march, or perhaps a gathering of a mass of determined people.