Piano Commission from Dr. Melvin Chen, Professor of Piano at Yale School of Music

In early December 2019, Melvin Chen, who serves as Professor of Piano at The Yale School of Music (as well as Deputy Dean and Director of the Yale Summer School of Music), wrote to see if I had any interest in participating in a project involving the commission of a new set of Diabelli Variations to be composed by Yale composition faculty and alumni. This new work would be paired with a performance of Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations, to honor the upcoming 250^th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth — with both performed by Melvin in the fall of 2020 as part of the Horowitz Piano Series at The Yale School of Music (date to be announced). 

I accepted the commission, and am honored to be in the company of other composers, including Aaron Jay Kernis, Hannah Lash, and Timo Andres.

My composition is called Across Time —and I actually wrote about 15 versions of this one variation before finishing. I look forward to the concert!