WORLD PREMIERE of Symphony of the Sun, I. “Totality” Conducted by the Composer

Time: 8pm Pacific

Location: Schoenberg Hall at UCLA

Address: 445 Charles E Young Dr E, Los Angeles, CA 90095

More info: https://schoolofmusic.ucla.edu/event/ucla-student-composers-spring-2025/

“Totality” is the first movement of Symphony of the Sun, a deeply personal composition inspired the once-in-a-lifetime total solar eclipse occurring over my childhood home of Dallas, Texas on April 8th, 2024.
In the music, I incorporated the image of the moon swallowing the sun whole by contrasting extreme dark and light. The composition begins with a spacious adagio (composed in the Mojave Desert), painting the stellar landscape behind the celestial event. From the ethereal texture emerges a bouncy string ostinato, bringing the energy of a new day. From this daytime music, a soaring horn solo forewarns the coming eclipse, followed by a violent variation of the solo in the percussion, announcing the moment of totality. As day rapidly descends into night, a primal cry erupts from the winds and solo cello in the peak of darkness. Just as quickly as the moon’s shadow swept across the earth, the brilliance of the sun’s corona highlights the sky, shining in a triumphant full orchestral tutti.