Redmond Overture (2012)

At the end of the 2011-12 Eastside Symphony concert season director Alexei Girsh asked me to consider writing something to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the city of Redmond, Washington. There was no commission involved, but that left the choice of music entirely up to me, if I even chose to do it. Obviously I did choose to. This overture, unlike the very specific musical descriptions of some of my other "program" pieces, is really more about mood. The history of Redmond is relatively uneventful. No Indian warfare. No historic battles. The greatest disruptions were Prohibition when the saloons closed and reduced the city's tax base, and the exhaustion of the supply of logs which changed the agricultural industry from logging to farming. The four-note opening motive of this piece represents a brief but ever-present uncertainty of the future. The serenity of the Sammamish River Valley can be heard in the long, peaceful theme that follows, while the everyday enjoyment of activities and business bustle of companies like Microsoft take shape in the faster middle section. Redmond's 100th birthday is on December 31, 2012.