Undivided (2020)

Divisions in our country have been growing to a point where some would think it is beyond repair. Our world has grown accustomed to an “us vs. them” way of thinking: democrats vs republicans, liberals vs conservatives, and vaxers vs anti-vaxers alongside racial, economic, and ethnic divisions. In a diverse world requiring unity, we are instead dividing it with more labels. Undivided presents a chronology of hymn styles from chant through my favorite “pop” style into post-tonal versions based on octatonic and twelve-tone collections. This represents all types of people, weaving them together as one by the end.

I’ve been feeling so burdened by the divisions and wish we could all get along. The piece brings together so many styles I love and I wish I could bring people together as beautifully and as relatively easily as in this music.