This powerful piece from Amanda Harberg (BM ’95, MM ’97, composition) was inspired by the sun, the feeling of solace, and a formative musical experience from the composer’s youth: “It was July 1978. I was five years old and my parents had taken me to hear the Philadelphia Orchestra’s outdoor performance of Tchaikovsky’s ‘Pathetique.’ During the performance, a violent thunderstorm erupted. The full force of the orchestra, punctuated by thunder and lightning, made me feel like I was surrounded by golden pillars of sound. That was the moment I first sensed that making music would be a defining element in my life.”

Adam Glaser conducts the Juilliard Pre-College Symphony.
Performed and recorded on April 29, 2023, at Peter Jay Sharp Theater