West Coast Sky Eternal (world premiere, LA Phil commission with generous support from the Esa-Pekka Salonen Commissions Fund)
At a Glance
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Composed
2023 -
Orchestration
Strings -
First Los Angeles Philharmonic Performance
May 25, 2023, Gustavo Dudamel conducting
About this Piece
West Coast Sky Eternal is a study in perspective. I wrote it during a time of personal upheaval, both positive and negative, and the piece oscillates between the rhythm of life and a global sense of beauty and balance. Starting from a wide-angle panorama, the “West Coast Sky” of the title is the expanse of a landscape viewed from miles above, flecked with distant clouds. The choppy, workaday business of living pulls our attention earthward. Each human decision is a shard that becomes a monolith, spiraling maniacally inwards until the raw joy of life and death finally have us looking upward, back to the high place, where the frenetic movements of humanity resolve into calm order once again. —Ellen Reid
