Boston University BU Wind Ensemble under the direction of David Martins, 11/21/19.
Notes on the piece:
As a father, as a teacher and as a human being, I find the increasing amount and continuing threat of mass gun violence throughout the American school system to be an unfathomable concept. By nature, our schools should be a safe haven of learning for students, with no worry of these atrocities. Remembering the Many is a personal attempt to comment on these tragedies, honoring those who fell victim both directly and indirectly, while also portraying the crushing shock of the incidents themselves. While in no way meant to diminish the horrific nature of any event of this kind, the piece does make specific numerical reference to the impacts of three of the most horrific incidents in public schools, namely those of Columbine, Sandy Hook and Marjory Stoneman Douglas. Throughout the piece, the 61 chime articulations that are part of these numerical references are presented as paired dyads to further mark the number of those lost to gun violence within schools at the time of this piece’s writing. My hope can only be that these numbers do not soon get outdated, but in truth, I fear it may be so.
With Sincerity,
–JDC