Licensing available for performances September of 2026 (or later). After purchase, you will receive an email with instructions on how to request the correct voicing and to make sure your performance will happen after the Consortium performance window has closed. Once you respond to the email, I will send the version of the score that you have requested.

Fire-Flowers begins in medias res, dropping the listener into a wild-fire as it ravishes the forest. Overlapping rhythmic ostinati and rising chromatic lines symbolize the rising flames, cooled a bit by the north winds. Then, as the forest repairs itself, lush harmonies reveal a sweet, wildflower symbolizing hope and a cathartic promise to create a better future.

The work grew out of a time of loss. Jacksonville University suddenly decided to close their music program, giving professors and students two weeks to figure out what we would do. Over the summer, my friends Santiago Veros and Giulio De Carlo wanted to help me through this transition and approached me about a joint consortium focused on songs about love. This work became my contribution.

The year since then has been filled with challenges. Adjusting to a new school with so many different policies, expectations, and opportunities (not to mention the EARLY start every day). Managing the tragedy of errors that is our ongoing home renovation. Helping to found a new professional vocal ensemble. Re-learning how to play the organ. Teaching myself to value and protect my physical health. Navigating the intricacies of All State, Solo & Ensemble, MPAs, honor choirs, etc. Watching the country and world go up in flames, and feeling like there's precious little I can do to even slow it down. It's been a hard year, but there are many things for which I am thankful, and that have helped me get through. Sharing every experience with my beloved Ariel, including an unforgettable trip to Key West. Steady employment. My new choir family at Saint Andrew's. The artistry of Fathom and the Voices of Jacksonville/Jacksonville Children's Chorus. Good health. The support of so many friends and family. Food to eat and a place to sleep. Access to transportation. And so much more.

I'm especially grateful for Santiago and Giulio collaborating on the Odes to Love Consortium, all the people who contributed to the cause, and adventurous directors like Theresa Moreau and Shawn Pendry (and the other consortium conductors) helping to bring life to a piece that otherwise would have gathered digital dust in a folder on my computer. This really is the point of Fire-Flowers. After the fire, after the desecration and desolation, from the dust and the ashes, life persists. In the community of the human forest, we find ways to help one another cope with loss, and as the woods once again turn green, our scars are hidden, but never removed. They become memorials to what was lost and inspiration for what is yet to be.

Thanks to the Consortium Members and Supporters:

• Case Western Reserve University

• Coro Polifonico Singing Cluster

• LaVilla School of the Arts

• Randolph College

• St. Augustine Community Chorus,

• UNC Asheville

• Sudie Marcuse

• Candace Dickens

• Kathy Ornstein & Don Fann