Ascent

Year: 2026

Heading: for orchestra

First Performance:
26 September 2026
Eastman Theater
Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra/Andreas Delfs

Instrumentation: 2.2.corA.2.2—4.2.3.1—timp.perc(3):xyl/glsp/crot/vib/mar/t.bells/susp.cym —pft—strings

Duration: 11:25

Program Note:
ASCENT was commissioned by Andreas Delfs and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra for the opening concert of their 2026–2027 season. Lasting just over 11 minutes, the work is intended to convey an uplifting, luminous spirit: an ascent—a rising, upward movement of sound. Its musical materials create the perception of continuously ascending in pitch, even though the music never actually gets higher. This auditory illusion, known as the Shepard tone, was developed by the American cognitive scientist Roger Newland Shepard. It is the sonic equivalent of a barber pole or an infinite staircase.

As an artist grows older, there is often a fear of waning energy and imagination. I have been fortunate to retain vivid memories of the creative energy I felt as a composer in my twenties, and in this work I have sought to combine that youthful vitality with the skills and experience gained over more than 45 years of composing. ASCENT is a piece intended to communicate directly with its audience, offering a soundscape that is as understandable as it is challenging.