Samsara

Program Notes

Samsara is a Sanskrit word for the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.

Imagine a flower. Beginning in stillness, yet to emerge from its seed. From stillness, music unfolds. From the seed, a flower emerges. As the piece grows, the flower begins to bloom. Patterns emerge and dissolve. Cycles within cycles.

Over time the flower gently fades. It withers and returns to the soil, beginning the cycle anew.

The piece, too, completes its cycle. It ends with a version of its beginning. Perhaps over the course of the cycle, there was something gained. The music takes a single step beyond its own repetition, a gesture towards something greater.

As I listen to this music, what I experience is a sense of underlying peace. The music could be a metaphor for being at peace throughout the ups and downs of life's turbulent cycles.