The Griffin

Program Notes

I wrote The Griffin as a way to show the clash of light and dark from the life of a griffin. Each movement captures moments of this mythological creatures life. The first movement represents the anxiety and pure happiness of birth and a mother’s love through a lullaby. The second movement displays the absolute chaos of adolescence that eventually moves to growth and maturity. The third movement is the hunt and killing of the griffin, representing the malicious desire to kill and destroy something even as powerful and beautiful as this creature from myth. The fourth movement is everything that may happen after death, whether that be the remembering life, the peace of death, or fear of the unknown. The Griffin at its core is a story that represents the beauty and tragedy that happens in each of our lives.