A Mighty Long Way (2025)
Movements:
I. Hoofbeat Fanfare
II. After Bourbon
III. Cheapside
IV. Beyond Bluegrass
Orchestration: 2.2.2.Bcl.2—4.3.2.Btbn.1—Timp.2 Perc—Hp—Pf(Cel)—Str
Duration: 15 minutes
Premiere: September 7, 2025, Lexington Philharmonic with conductor Mélisse Brunet, Lexington, Kentucky
Commissioned for the 250th anniversary of Lexington, Kentucky, A Mighty Long Way is an orchestral suite that, while rooted in local history, speaks to broader, universal themes—complex stories, shared joy and celebration, and a future imagined. The work delves into Lexington’s evolving story—its tensions, triumphs, and often-overlooked histories. From the pounding optimism of Hoofbeat Fanfare, a nod to Lexington’s equestrian roots, to After Bourbon, a celebration of Kentucky’s iconic export filled with lively grooves and communal joy, the work reflects on the region’s layered heritage. Cheapside turns inward, contemplating the painful legacy of one of the South’s largest slave markets, offering a meditation on the enduring effects of racial violence, inequality, and the ongoing need for collective reckoning. The final movement, Beyond Bluegrass, refracts fragments of “My Old Kentucky Home” through shifting harmonies, imagining a future that is both rooted in and renewed by the lessons of the past. Ultimately, A Mighty Long Way invites us to reflect, to celebrate, and to move forward.
Under exclusivity until September 8, 2025