DaVinci at the River (2021)

Instrumentation: 3[3.picc]2[2.EH]3[3.BCl]2/4331/Timp+3/Hrp/Str - SATB - Bass Solo

Libretto: Taylor Gruenloh

Duration: 50:00

Performances:

Missouri S&T Symphony Orchestra
December 5, 2021
Rolla, MO

Program Notes

DaVinci at the River has been a labor of love for well over a year at the time of writing. The initial idea was mine. When the requests for grant proposals celebrating Missouri S&T's 150th Anniversary came forward my mind instantly began considering how I could lend my talents to the upcoming celebrations. From the beginning I wanted to explore S&T's dichotomy as a STEM school with a thriving artistic side. A host of topics and subjects came to my mind, among them Madam Curie, George Washington Carver, Fredrick Douglas, and of course, Leonard da Vinci. From the beginning DaVinci was the subject who captured my imagination. A celebrated inventor, scientist, and artist - DaVinci is still the ultimate example of the marriage of STEM and the arts.

While the initial idea was mine, the powerful scenario belongs entirely to Taylor Gruenloh. My initial ideas were notable only in how unimaginative they were. It was Taylor who decided to visit Leonardo in death and thereby breathe new life into him. Throughout the process of composing this piece I have been in awe of Taylor's expansive imagination. At times devastating, hopeful, and witty, Leonardo da Vinci comes to life through his words. Through Taylor we feel a kinship with the long dead master: we feel for him, we yearn with him, and ultimately, we find ourselves in him. 

Every composer hopes that their next piece is going to be their best. With DaVinci at the River I can safely say that I feel like I have composed the best music of my career. The piece was composed over the tumultuous year 2020 and the first half of 2021. While the world fell apart and then began healing itself, I was lucky to have Leonardo to keep coming back to. There is more than a little of my own hopes, dreams, and desires in these little black dots and hope you can find some of your own here too.

Synopsis:

An ancient power conjures the ghost of Leonardo da Vinci and demands that a machine be built. The ghost of da Vinci has doubts about this machine and will languish for over a hundred years caught between innovation and purpose, forced to remember his great deeds and his unfinished promises in life.