A Tahoe Pastorale
(2024)
S.A.T.B. with divisi
Text by Emily Dickinson and Helen Hunt Jackson
Duration: 3 minutes
Program note:
A Tahoe Pastorale was written primarily in a hotel room in South Lake Tahoe, California. After premiering my Missa Brevis Sacramentum just a few months earlier, I had planned to step away from choral writing to focus on orchestral score study and a multi-percussion project. Yet the quiet allure of winter in Tahoe and a growing fascination with Cecil Effinger’s Four Pastorales for oboe and chorus ultimately drew me back to the choral medium.
The text of A Tahoe Pastorale interweaves two poems by Emily Dickinson and Helen Hunt Jackson, poets born in the same year (1830) and the same town (Amherst, Massachusetts). Despite these parallel beginnings, their lives diverged profoundly: Dickinson lived in seclusion and saw almost none of her poetry published during her lifetime, while Jackson became a prominent writer and a leading advocate for Native American rights.
I initially considered titling the work “An Amherst Pastorale" in honor of the poets’ shared origins. However, never having visited Amherst, the piece ultimately grew into a reflection of the place where it was conceived, Lake Tahoe. The stillness of its snow-covered pines, the chill of its winter air, and frigid lake itself.
Let Children Walk
(2026)
S.A.T.B. with piano accompaniment
Text by John Muir
Duration: 5 minutes
Program note:
Growing up in the East Bay, I would often hear the name John Muir, especially considering that my mother worked for John Muir Health for many years. But even aside from the healthcare company, John Muir’s relevance stretches far beyond California history due to his close friendship with President Theodore Roosevelt. Although I visited Muir’s home as a child, it was only within the last few years that I became interested in learning more about who he was and the impact he had. So when Dr. Brad Schultz approached me about writing a piece for the Contra Costa Chorale, the first name that came to mind when choosing a text was John Muir, whose home sits in the seat of Contra Costa County, Martinez.
While Muir’s home was interesting and definitely worth a visit, especially given how close it is, I left wanting to learn and understand even more about him. I also left with the disappointing discovery that Muir did not like music and particularly disliked the piano. Yet in his writings, Muir described nature in a way that reminded me of how a conductor might instruct an orchestra to approach a passage of music: with both precise direction and a sense of mystery that allows musicians, or readers, to create vivid images in their minds. I compiled texts from two of Muir’s books, The Mountains of California and A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf, arranging them into a narrative that highlights what I love most about his work.
I encourage everyone who is able to “walk with nature,” as Muir says, and to spend more time outdoors. I believe art is a reflection of the natural world. If we allow nature to perish, so too will art, and with it, human expression and connection. I remain hopeful that those moved by nature and art will continue to recognize this connection and share their love of both in an effort to preserve what makes us human.