Hold Sacred

2020

For Wind Quintet (fl, ob/EH, cl, hn, bsn)

Duration: 4'

Commissioned by WindSync.

Premiered by WindSync on December 17, 2020, with the Society for Performing Arts Houston, with choreography and dance by Akshaya Avril Tucker.

Score and parts are available directly from the composer. Contact me!

Program Note:

The goal of "Hold Sacred" is to soothe. To hold something sacred to us is soothing; to

remember it is soothing.

I mean to hold sacredness literally. Make "hold" a verb. Hold sacred, as you would a

baby chick, a tiny plant, a memory, or someone’s hand.The gentleness comes from the

desire to protect this dear object, to stay in this comfort for a while...

With the task of meditating on the concept of "sacredness," for WindSync's "Sacred and

Profane" program, I had to ask what was sacred to me personally. The answer, during

the COVID-19 pandemic, is "touch and feel" things. Repotting plants. Kneading bread

dough. Giving a hug, when possible. Fewer think-y things. These sensations keep me

going mentally. They heal anxiety, like a magical antidote, some special serotonin, while

the memory of who and what I cannot physically hold is difficult.

We may only create a few moments of soothing sounds together, and then... we will go

right back to the way things are. But maybe just for a moment, we can hold this feeling

in our hands.

"Hold Sacred" features a blend of abstracted raga-inspired fragments that swirl through

unusual harmonies and (hopefully) invite a meditation on whatever is most soothing to

the listener.