Finn’s River for guitar soloist with guitar orchestra (2024)
Finn’s River for guitar soloist with guitar orchestra was commissioned by the New Jersey Music Educators Association (NJMEA) and the Augustine Foundation for the NJMEA Honors Guitar Ensemble and the New Jersey Guitar Orchestra under the leadership of Jayson Martinez. The world premiere of the work is scheduled to take place in May 2025 at the Long Island Guitar Festival.
For this composition, I was inspired by Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) by Mark Twain. I read it for the first time this year and was deeply affected by it. I have decided to name my piece Finn’s River because of the powerful presence of the Mississippi River in the novel. It is broadly symbolic of freedom for Huck and Jim, both seeking an escape from their oppressive circumstances. The musical imagery seeks to invoke the many moods of the river as well as the underlying human struggle and desire for freedom.
