On March 19, 2025, Soleil d’automne received its world premiere at Grusin Music Hall, University of Colorado Boulder, performed by the Renova New Music Ensemble — CU Boulder’s acclaimed student-led contemporary choir — under the direction of conductor Blake Clawson, with Andrew Thomas Wilder on classical guitar.

Program Note

I composed this piece to embody the essence of autumn, reflecting on the beauty and transcendence in nature during this season of change.

The seed to this choral work began as a deeply personal art song (quite a few years ago) — written and sung on classical guitar while sitting in a field, under a late afternoon September sun, among the trees, the birds, and the bugs. I was not singing about Autumn. I was singing Autumn.

Quite a few years ago, having lived in French-speaking Senegal and at the time deepened my studies in the language over some years, I began thinking and writing in French as one does as they become more intimate with a language. I find French to be a particularly beautiful and melodic language, perfectly suited to the delicate emotions this piece embodies.

Transforming this art song into a choral piece has been deeply satisfying — celebrating the beauty of shared voices and creating a communal experience. The gentle whistling and delicate guitar accompaniment enhance the work’s intimacy, tying it back to its original personal feeling and grounding it in nature.

Text

Soleil d’automne, regarde les fleurs du champ, comme elles baissent leurs têtes. Le vent emmène nos pétales au loin, l’un après l’autre.

Soleil d’automne, brillant à travers les branches des arbres tandis que les feuilles tombent du ciel à la terre, se pose là en prière.

Autumn sun, look at the flowers of the field, how they lower their heads. The wind carries our petals far away, one by one.

Autumn sun, shining through the branches of the trees while the leaves fall from the sky to the earth, resting themselves there in prayer.