About the piece:

Safety, A Fluttered Heart is a response dedicated to the afflictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Taking the programmatic approach, this piece immediately throws the listener at the beginning of ensuing tragedy for its foreshadowing of what’s to come. Then everything calms down and we are taken back in time, to a time before the general public knew that a pandemic was on the way. Here you will hear the sounds of peace, joy, the sounds of an almost perfect world. Near the end of 2019, the World Health Organization was just informed of a case of pneumonia with an unknown cause, later to be called COVID-19.

By the sounds of the sleigh bells we are now near the end of the year, where most people are trying to get their minds off of what is happening overseas. One of those things they do to de-stress is to jam to some groovin' tunes. This section is jazz influenced, meant to distract the audience, making them forget of the virus spreading across Asia. You will soon hear the sounds of an airplane as it travels overhead, crossing the Atlantic and to the U.S. The first few notes of our National Anthem will play in the background, taking on a more ‘worrying’ feel as the plane touches down in the states and the first person unknowingly contracted with the corona virus steps foot onto our soil. The public starts becoming concerned as the first U.S. case hits the news. 

Cases start rising in numbers, states are issuing “Stay-at-home” orders and safety guidelines. Some Americans follow them, some do not, putting many at risk. The continuous rise of cases and the disputes that follow build and build into the final climax of the piece that was foreshadowed from the very beginning. After the opening statement is reiterated in a more “divided” sense, we then pay homage to those whom we’ve lost by engaging in a choral-like passage using familiar thematic material featured in the horns.

I end this piece with a question, “What happened next?  “Where do we go from and how can we learn from this to prevent future situations. These questions make our hearts flutter with anxiety and concern, however our hearts may also flutter with hope and optimism.