Golden Hour gets its name from the period of time right after sunrise or right before a sunset that is favored by many photographers due to the warm natural light of the sun. The golden hour was a moment in time that I sat down in my garden and heard a serenade of birdsong and distant church bells. It is a moment that sits with me forever and I was glad to have captured it in a musical form. When I was asked to arrange this movement for Orchestra for The Hartt School’s Collage Concert, I wanted to have this version be able to stand out on its own. Rather than having the newly added strings double pre-existing parts, I wanted to take advantage of sounds that only a string section could make.

 

This orchestra version of Golden Hour was premiered by The Hartt School Orchestra under the baton of Jacob Bender on February 14th, 2025.

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Hymn to a Resplendent Dawn is dedicated to my grandfather, John Robert Howe, who passed away a month before I finished writing the complete piece.