Departure

In the summer of 2003, I was asked to write a piece for the Discovery Series during the Festival of the Sound. The format was interesting: a total of three composers brought new works, written for the resident ensemble. For one week, the performers and the composers would live together and workshop the compositions daily. It was a great opportunity for the composers to get valuable feed-back from the performers - and we would have time to make changes before the concert at the end of the week. The result was a excellent exchange of ideas which was a great learning experience.

Parry Sound is located on Georgian Bay - a place a beauty and serenity. Departure reflects the idea of leaving the busy city for this place, where one can spend an afternoon staring out at the lake. There are many pauses - moments of reflection - as there is no need to do anything, but sit and peacefully observe.