I went to the Ole Orchestra home concert tonight (they were on tour over post-Interim break), and amid the wide and exciting smorgasbord of selections there was a dose of sentimentality midway through the evening. SMA (Amundson's "new" name) had written a piece commemorating the life of a former percussionist in the orchestra, and before they performed it he told the audience to think of everything and everyone dear in their lives while it would be played. Unintentionally, I had been reflecting over a few people previously in my life who had passed. I've been trying (struggling sometimes) to reconcile with the differences of the then vs now in terms of their presence(s) and lack thereof. So the work was a stronger memory refresher in that sense, and it also served as a reminder of where our (mine, anyway) life's priorities should be.

I also had to smile when I noticed what the melodic motive was that set off all the melodies throughout the work. SMA had taken the first and last letters of the young percussionist's first and last names, and upon hearing it I discovered that it was one different from the melodic motive I created in the "O Lord our Governor" I wrote 9 years ago ("E-C-D-G" vs "C-D-G-E").