Halo

for chamber orchestra, 12:00 (2018). Written for the Illinois Modern Ensemble.

1(picc).1.1(bcl).1  / 1.1.1.1 / perc(2) / piano / strings

About the work:
Only two ingredients are needed for a star to be formed: hydrogen and gravity. Star nurseries, like the Orion Nebula in our Milky Way galaxy, consist of massive clouds of hydrogen and other gases; when these clouds collapse under their own weight, a star is born. The further the star collapses, the brighter it becomes. This process continues until the star is able to give off enough energy to halt gravitational collapse.

Halo is my attempt to illustrate not only a star being born, but also the remnants of resulting energy given off by this process. In the natural world, halos of light are a sign of energy happening somewhere; even though we cannot physically feel the energy, we know that it is or was once present. As the harmony of this piece cyclically collapses, the light gradually grows stronger until we can physically feel the pulsing energy from which the light radiates.

Halo was premiered by the Illinois Modern Ensemble on March 31, 2018 in the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.