Program Notes
Over the last few years, I've been digging a little deeper into my personal experiences and putting them into the music. As my personal walls have come down, I feel I am more in tune with myself, my musical aesthetic, and what I want my career to be.

I also feel I have more to say.

In 2020, I wrote a piece entitled AFFIRMATION, which was a celebration of the outsiders of the world. I think a lot of us have felt that way from time to time. I was the gay, artsy kid that never quite fit in at my rural high school. I couldn't relate to my peers who wanted to talk about cars and sports and hunting (not that there's anything wrong with those...it just wasn't my bag). And I was bullied for it.

Mercilessly.

I was slammed into lockers. I had items stolen. I had artwork destroyed. I was called many unsavory names by both students and teachers. And little by little, I learned to hate myself. It has taken me many years into my adult life to unlearn that lesson and to get back around to loving myself.

So, to circle back, in 2020, I wrote AFFIRMATION for all of the kids who had ever been made to feel "less than." It is a song of celebration and defiance and is, to this day, one of my favorite things I've written. There was just one problem with it. It is a REALLY challenging piece. I always wanted to do an easier version to carry this message to younger kids who deal with the same issues, day after day, from peers, adults, parents, and siblings. I wanted to tell them that it is okay to love themselves. That it is not only okay...it is NECESSARY.

But I also wanted to write something for Little Randall.

It is with immense gratitude and pride that I present my new composition, Me (reAffirmation), the newest addition to the unBroken project. This work was commissioned by Becky Stewart , and I will be forever in her debt for allowing me to write this work and trusting my creative muse. This Grade 1.5-2 work takes themes from Affirmation and, instead of a celebration, turns them into a lullaby of comfort, a gentle song that whispers back across the years to my younger self, "It's going to be okay." Late in the piece, a defiant heartbeat is heard that grows to the climax before resolving to a gentle message of hope.

Bullying happens to our youth. Bullying happens to our adults. And it is NOT okay.

So, to all of the band geeks, the choir kids, the art kids, the children of color, the LGBTQ+ youth, the abused and forgotten, the misunderstood, and the people walking around with the weight of too many years of self-loathing chained to their legs, please try this for me.

Say something positive about yourself every single day.

Be your own best cheerleader.

Learn to say something positive about those around you.

Learn to love yourself.

You are beautiful.

You are perfect.

You are worthy.

Say it over and over again until you believe it from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet.

And to Little Randall...

Hey buddy...

Things are going to be OK.

Peace Love and Music.

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