Yet To Say

Yet To Say (2014)

'Yet To Say' was written in the spring and summer of 2014. The piece makes use of a short existentialist text by Stephen Crane describing a dialogue between a man and the universe:
A man said to the universe:
"Sir, I exist!"
"However," replied the universe,
"The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation."
- Stephen Crane, (1871-1900), from 'War Is Kind' (1899)
'Yet To Say' involves Crane's text, though never in its entirety. The words and syllables of Crane's dialogue are broken up and re-assembled throughout the piece as a vocal extension of the instrumental ensemble. In turn, the music provides the expression of the underlying currents I find in Crane's text, both the darkness as well as the whimsical oddness.

'Yet To Say' was premiered on October 23, 2014, by the USC Thornton Symphony, Donald Crockett conducting, as part of the 2014 USC Thornton New Music for Orchestra (NMO) program at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA.

USC Thornton Symphony, Donald Crockett conducting
October 23, 2014; USC, Los Angeles, CA

Performance History -

premiere:
USC Thornton Symphony, Donald Crockett conducting; New Music for Orchestra
October 23, 2014; Bovard Auditorium, USC Thornton School of Music, Los Angeles, CA