Libera Me Fanfare For Freedom For Symphony Orchestra 2017

The genesis of this piece came as a result of the planning of the world premiere of my Violin Concerto at Carnegie Hall with maestra Amy Andersson. Amy asked me if I had an overture to open the program that was centered around the concerto, but unfortunately I didn’t have one. Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man was programmed. I vowed to have one composed and ready as a concert opener for future performances.

Within a few weeks after the successful violin concerto premiere, I began work on a new fanfare. In consideration of Copland’s ever so popular fanfare, I learned that his work was a wartime composition; we live in different times and a fanfare for liberation and freedom is more reflective of what our nation and the world needs today. Hence, Libera Me (“free me”), a Fanfare for Freedom was born.

This short piece has three sections, which are reflective of humankind’s struggle for freedom. Part 1 touches upon the pain and agony of the captivity of the human spirit. Part 2 centers on the struggle to break free and gain freedom. In part 3, the human spirit has become free and in great celebration, and rises up in triumph to end the piece.