Cancelled – Corona Virus’d – San Jose Chamber Orchestra premieres Respecting the First (Amendment)

Respecting the First (Amendment) had its inception in an earlier piece, Respecting the First, for amplified string quartet and electronics made from readings of and about the first amendment. Commissioned by the Fromm Foundation, it was composed for and premiered by the Casssatt Quartet. It was inspired by my sense that the First Amendment was under attack, and that the freedoms therein guaranteed were on shaky ground. This new take, with a very different trajectory for the electronics as well as recomposed instrumental music, reflects my sense of the worsening situation regarding freedoms of religion, of the press, and of the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for redress of grievances. Respecting the First (Amendment) was commissioned by the San Jose Chamber Orchestra and their director, Barbara Day Turner. Her program is a modern day commentary on a dark time.