Sonata no. 1

Ensemble Piano solo

Duration 18:00

Completed 2025

Cost $20

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This piece reflects, celebrates, and honors the musical (and personal) journey of piano lessons with a wonderful adult student of mine, who was also the piece’s commissioner. John was the first student of my first independent teaching studio and quickly also became a dear friend. Over our six years (and counting!) of working together we’ve had the joy of broaching several pedagogical concepts, from the technical to the theoretical, many of which find their way into the writing of this piece in large and small ways. Thematically speaking, the opening sonata form movement is meant to represent the ongoing and often cyclical emotional patterns of musical study – from anticipation to frustration to accomplishment and elation to simple musical pleasure and back around again. The latter two movements are shorter character pieces, the first of which honors the often rambunctious (but always joyful) presence of my infant son in our lessons, and the second of which draws its base melodic content from the Brahms Intermezzo in A Major, a favorite piece of both of ours as well as a piece that served as a bit of turning point of success amidst our course of study.