Twilight Songs is the third piece in a years-long collaborative friendship with Dr. Matthew Tracy. After attending school together through about 2015, Matt and I have spent a week or so on a hiking trip every few years. In between these trips, we rarely have the opportunity to spend more than a few hours together at a time, so these trips have naturally become days-long life check-ins that have been both grounding and inspirational. During our last trip to Lake Magog just outside Banff, Matt told me that he his wife were expecting their first child, and that he wanted a new piece to celebrate that milestone. I was honored to write this piece, but also anxious that it would both celebrate Matt and Mackenzie’s family and reflect the gratitude and perspective that my own children have brought to my life.

This was one of the most rewarding collaborations I’ve worked on in recent years. After Jackson was born, Matt sent melodic ideas from lullabies they sing to him, which I used to create the melodic and gestural content of this piece. The first movement is a loosely traditional sonata form, the second is a lullaby for Jackson, and the third is a musical image of a dream of wild and boundless joy.

Twilight Songs was written for Matt Tracy, and is dedicated to his son Jackson. To inquire about purchasing this score after its premier, please contact me here.