Theme: Music for Peace Project

Coming of age in the ’60s, I absorbed in my core a belief that peace was possible. In that small instant of time, it did seem, for sure to an optimistic and naïve teenager, that the millions of voices protesting in the streets, energized by rock and roll, could make a difference. The young would take over from the old and make the world a better place. Of course, it didn’t turn out that way – and it never has. Revolutionaries become what they seek to replace. Despite the discouraging tone of these words, I still harbor an inner faith that music possesses a power to reach into the hearts and minds of those who are listening and influence them for the better. With that thought in mind, much of my music was written to encourage thoughts about the possibility of peace. Yes, much martial music has been composed over the centuries to stir up the passions of soldiers to go to war – but music also has the power to elevate, to bring peace to troubled spirits, to light the path to an inner space that is free of anger and strife.

 

YEAR

Title

Instruments

Duration

2013
Afterwards, there were no more wars
string quartet
21 minutes
2018
Against War
soprano & orchestra
23 minutes
2021
Ahimsa
orchestral ensemble
20 minutes
2005
An Ode to the Possibility of Peace
clarinet, violin, cello
15 minutes
2019
Border Crossings
2 violins
17 minutes
2019
Declaration of Peace
chamber orchestra
12 minutes
2016
Dreaming of a Better World
string quartet
15 minutes
2020
Freedom Song
saxophone quartet
6 minutes
2013
Lonely Voices
string quartet
26 minutes
2022
music inspired by 2 poems against war
solo cello
7 minutes
2005
Pavanne for a World Without War
string orchestra
8 minutes
2024
Symphony for Peace
chamber orchestra
40 minutes
2018
the children are crying
saxophone quartet
6 minutes
2018
the children are still crying
saxophone quartet
6 minutes
2021
The Peace of Wild Things
countertenor, traverso, viola, violoncello, theorbo
17 minutes
2021
We Will Not Forget
duduk & string orchestra
10 minutes