PROGRAM NOTES
As The Shadows Fade was commissioned by Mark Cashin, Director of the Cardinal Gibbons High School Symphonic Band. After the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, bands throughout the United States began to return to “in person” classes. Cardinal Gibbons was celebrating it’s 110th year as a Catholic school, and Mr. Cashin approached me to compose an achievable Grade 2 piece that reflected the feelings of his students as they emerged from the darkness of being musically separated. I imagined darkened hallways and classrooms coming to life with literal and figurative light, students elated to be reconnected with friends, and grateful to create music together once again.