Program Note: Essential was initially written as a string quartet during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, a time filled with fear, sadness, tragedy, and uncertainty. The work is dedicated to the heroic essential workers who have risked their lives to keep the most necessary elements of society functioning. The pandemic has given rise to this coinage as a way of celebrating bus drivers, grocery workers, delivery workers, doctors, nurses and many more for whom we collectively have a new appreciation - one that we should have had all along.

The work is a personal expression of gratitude, as I depended on these people when I quarantined for weeks alone in my Morningside Heights apartment, listening to ambulances blare throughout the day and in the middle of the night. At a time when New York City was catastrophically threatened, they sustained its resilient spirit and carried us through. This work reflects that spirit.

Commisioned By: Charles Ives Music Festival.

Premiere: Premiered by hornist Priscilla Rinehart and the CIMF Chamber Orchestra led by Eric Mahl at the Ridgefield Play House in August 2022