NURTURE

• Solo marimba (5-octave required)
• Duration: ~5:30
• Commissioned and premiered by Adam Collins, 2021
• Recording coming soon. Click to view a score sample.
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Nurture: to help, to encourage, to further growth, to care for, to nourish. 

This piece was commissioned by Adam Collins, whom I am grateful to call a friend. Adam asked me to write a piece inspired by the concept of helping others. After pondering about this for quite some time, I came to the conclusion that, perhaps, the most helpful thing we can do for someone is to see them and love them just as they are. And, to truly understand the power and impact of this action, we have to first learn to do this for ourselves. Fred Rogers said it best: "You can't really love someone else unless you really love yourself first." 

Nurture was created during a period of time in which I felt a real sense of progress in my own ongoing journey to self-acceptance. I have prioritized nurturing myself as a person and as an artist. I am learning to love my own voice. I’m remembering what brought me happiness as a child, and I’m reconnecting with those parts of myself. I am recentering and refocusing so that I can be grounded enough to offer support to others. So, I wrote a piece about helping, after all. 

To Adam, and to everyone who plays this piece:

My goal for this project was to create something that would feel good to play. Something that would allow you, the performer, to reconnect with the joy of making and sharing music. A prompt for self-reflection, and a reminder to nurture your own curiosity, your happiness, and your growth. 

This music is yours now. If you feel moved, move; tempo markings are only guidelines. Breathe life into the notes and take ownership of each phrase. My greatest hope is that this will bring some peace to you as you play it and to those with whom you choose to share it.