Movements

I. Time to Rise

II. Marching Song

III. Singing

IV. The Swing

V. Rain

VI. Northwest Passage

VII. The Moon

Program Notes

In Spring, 2026, I hit a creative block that I was struggling to escape. I told my composition teacher this, and he told me to write a short piece for young pianists by the next day. The goal was to force me to compose much more simply. This challenge was exactly what I needed, and not only did it break me out of the block, but it also inspired me to write six more similarly accessible and generally easy pieces for young pianists of varying skill levels.

One aspect that often seems to help me generate material is poetry, and this set was certainly no exception. My grandmother had recently given me Robert Louis Stevenson's book of poetry for children titled A Child's Garden of Verses when she was moving into a retirement home and had to downsize her library. When I was looking for inspiration, this book immediately came to mind, and I used this poetry as the starting point for these miniatures.

Importantly, I was writing these miniatures around the time that I graduated from high school, and I decided that this was the place to meaningfully thank teachers, mentors, friends, and students who have invaluably influenced me as a musician over my four years of high school, especially as a pianist.

Hence, the first movement I dedicated to my first piano teacher, Jo Pettitt. I began playing piano when I was seven and hated it at first. However, she is a very special teacher as she knows just what music to give a student to make them interested and passionate about music. It was when she gave me my first piece of real classical music, Muzio Clementi's first sonatina that I was hooked. I know that I was not the easiest student as I lacked singular focus, coming into nearly every lesson with a different piece I wanted to learn, but without her persistent encouragement, I likely would never have gone into music at all.

The second movement is dedicated to the piano teacher I studied with over the last three years of high school, Jeanne Jackson. She reigned me in so that I was able to better develop my technique through consistently playing a piece at a time. She also was an incredible support as I searched for ways to afford the cost of Juilliard.

The third movement is dedicated to my beginner piano student of the last two years of high school, Robbie. I have learned as much from teaching as from my teachers. Thus, I decided it was only natural that I dedicated a movement to him. This movement is also meant to be something that he can learn.

The fourth movement is dedicated to my very dear friend, colleague, and collaborator Zander Chang. Playing in the Sundry Trio with him was one of the highlights of high school for both of us and being able to work so closely and frequently with a musician of his caliber was simply inspiring. He is an incredible pianist, making his Carnegie Hall debut when he was seven, and equally good violinist, making his Carnegie Hall debut playing violin when he was nine. The fourth movement is written for what I imagine seven-year-old Zander would play at Carnegie Hall.

The fifth movement is dedicated to Lori Rhoden, with whom I studied piano at the MasterWorks Festival for two years. She asked me to write a piece for her in 2024, which led me to write Water Lilies, my largest single movement work for solo piano thus far. She has since performed Water Lilies numerous times, helping my music reach new audiences. Furthermore, she was such an encouragement to my compositions and passion for collaborative piano that I felt I had to recognize her for all she has done for me. Knowing she liked the water theme of Water Lilies, I chose to dedicate the movement about rain to her.

The sixth movement is dedicated to another dear friend, Jenna Franke, who I also met at the MasterWorks Festival and with whom I would often go to National Symphony concerts at the Kennedy Center during my last years in Virginia.

My composition teacher Sheridan Seyfried's challenge that first set the work into motion became the seventh and final movement and is also dedicated to him. I believe Mr. Seyfried was exactly the teacher I needed in the important years of musical growth that encompass high school. Among many other things, he opened my mind about simplicities role even within complex music and vice versa and helped me develop my abilities in setting difficult texts in my numerous art songs and song cycles. I felt that it was necessary that I dedicate something to him before leaving his studio.

Therefore, these pieces became both a depiction of the Stevenson poems, but also as an expression of my deep gratitude to everyone that helped me develop as a musician over the course of high school.