SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS

I love the idea that a lot of the most beautiful and expressive moments in music come from the refinement of materials and then developing those materials to their absolute most extremely expressive degree. At this piece’s heart, it is a sort of study in rhetoric, yet, it is also work about letting go of more abstract concepts in my music, and just trying to write a work which is simple and sound.

The title has many meanings. As someone famously quiet and reserved, the idea of a simple action being more meaningful and expressive than words has served me well my entire life. The gestures which comprise this work are also designed to loosely resemble a sort of abstract shouting (see the echoes in the B section or the call and response between various sections, most notably at m. 301) Additionally, this work was written as a reflection on my time at Rice University and meant to be a big gesture to all of the people who made it special.

This work is dedicated to Jerry Hou and the rest of my family at the Shepherd School of Music. I will be forever grateful that I was able to work alongside such inspiring musicians and beautiful souls.