NOTE: PERFORMANCE RIGHTS FOR THIS WORK ARE RESTRICTED TO THE NATIONAL ORCHESTRA OF KOREA (국립국악관현악단) UNTIL AFTER APRIL 7, 2024

It is through darkness that we know light.

When I was commissioned by the National Orchestra of Korea to compose a work on the theme of recovery and co-prosperity, I looked to the contrast between light and darkness as an apt metaphor not only for the difficult times from which we are presently beginning to emerge, but, more broadly, for the natural cycles of overcoming various challenges that we face throughout life. Just as it is only through experiencing darkness that we can fully appreciate light, the challenges we face, individually and collectively, define our relationships with success, and allow us to more fully value the prosperity we might achieve. Simply put, the greater the struggle, the sweeter the success.

Emerging Light 서광, seeks to explore this relationship — the necessity of struggling in order to truly appreciate success, with notions of darkness and light expressed musically. Throughout the piece, musical light struggles to break free from darkness. Numerous times, rays of light appear ready to shine forth, only to be swallowed again into gloom.

The piece opens with yanggeum expressing a small glimmer of light, which subsequently tries to expand — an idea that returns throughout the piece. It is soon, however, enveloped by the darkness of the orchestra, and a series of similar passages ensues. Each time, the attempts of light to emerge are met by forceful assertions of darkness, with several sections building to climactic moments, which are then followed by sections of calm before the cycle repeats itself. Eventually, resilience is rewarded, as light is finally able to overtake darkness. In a long passage that begins in stillness and slowly grows more and more excited, light finally breaks free in a brilliant, exciting and hopeful finish.