The rose

for string orchestra (2021)

Duration: 8:30 (Stems: 3:00 Thorns: 3:15, Petals: 2:15)

Written as a tribute to Tupac’s The Rose that Grew from Concrete, The Rose demonstrates the evolving relationship between the natural and technological worlds. Rather than focusing on civilization’s domination over nature’s beauty, The Rose explores how our greenery is adapting and surviving in the modern world. Movement 1, Stems, is meant to represent the beauty that nature once had on this Earth, as well as its possibilities in a society absent of concrete. The flowing sextuplets portray an ever changing world, yet still hold the softness and slow-moving atmosphere of a picturesque landscape. Thorns then shows how demanding the modernizing city is, especially with the obnoxious and out-of-place “car alarm” motif. Petals then brings back some themes from Stems and Thorns, but with new emotions. The inconsistent tempo shows the urgency of the two worlds, flying towards each other in what could end in the loss of something beautiful. Many melodies are represented in multiple movements of the composition, but every instance is meant to provoke a new and unexplored aspect of the situation. Even within a single movement, melodies are represented as one thing, yet recapitulated as another.  Similar to the rose from Tupac’s poem, The Rose shows nature’s persistence when all odds are against its growth.