Written for the Music Wall Duo. Flute/Alto Flute (Abigail Walsh) and Piano (Pei-I Wang) — 16’30”

Premiered at Illinois College Fine Arts Series, Rammelkamp Chapel, Jacksonville, IL, Nov. 2021

Many cultures erect monuments, or stelae, as memorials to commemorate events. This work, written for the Music Wall Duo (flute and piano) in 2021, presents eight short pieces that commemorate some of the emotions I felt during the pandemic. They are my reflections on what we experienced throughout the last year or so: dread, loss, sadness, relief, hope, renewal, and caution. The movements are short (1 or 2 minutes), and may be summarized by these brief comments:

I. Foreboding - That feeling of uneasiness right before something bad is going to happen.

2. Fight or Flight – Sheer panic; markets are in free fall; time to buy more toilet paper.

3. Waiting – Will this be done soon? Everything is still, but nothing is calm.

4. Mourning – Devastatingly sad. So many deaths.

5. Lament – A simple threnody, built on a dirge.

6. Wash, Rinse, Repeat – The tedium of handwashing, on-line sessions, remote work, take-out, etc.

7. Emergence – A glimmer of hope as spring arrives and case counts fall.

8. Exuberance – We think it is over, but our enthusiasm is overtaken by that old feeling of dread.