What is it?

Centered around the cyclical nature of existence, cycles of the moon and of water, stages of grief, the transmigration of the soul, and the constant presence of change in our lives, the work is highly conceptual and multidimensional in scope. It is a story that centers around what can only be described simply as a “journey home”. In its entirety it contains not only 30 pieces of written music for piano, organ, orchestra, and choir, but field recordings and photographs from across the southwestern united states, sound design, video, and animation. Not subject to and specific constraints, it has been presented as a work for piano, chamber orchestra, and SATB choir, and is in the process of being presented as an interactive installation, long form film, and geo-mapped platform for collaborative composition.

Why?

The beginnings of Toward The South Plains manifested unexpectedly in early February 2016 after a circumstance of gun violence took the life of a fellow musician in the West Texas community. In the years following, the work has seen a gradual shift from this subjective inspiration to a more global concern as this sort of malice has become all too common.

How?

The aim of the work is to generate community wide events centered around conversation considering that through extracurricular participation in activities such as the arts, we can learn to recognize that it is through the efforts of each individual that the whole becomes possible; no individual is dispensable.