Composer's Note

Two Interpretations of Sweetness, for Sinfonietta & Electric Instruments, was commissioned by Overtuned Fest and premiered at its inaugural 2026 edition.

I.
Sweetness as work. Sweetness as effort. Sweetness as strength. Sweetness as rebellion. Sweetness as the lotus bursting from the silt. Sweetness as future. Sweetness as the petrified orchid blossoming in the sun. Sweetness as the terrified child moving his feet. Sweetness as the voice remembering how to sing.

Sweetness as the courage of radiant becoming.

II.
Sweetness as tenderness. Sweetness as warmth. Sweetness as strength. Sweetness as a gardener tends to the flower bitten by an early frost. Sweetness as memory. Sweetness as trust in a child on a breezy day in June. Sweetness as heartbeat. Sweetness as breath. Sweetness as lips that part like seafoam upon the sand. Sweetness as truth.

Sweetness as the enveloping softness of tears we’re not afraid to shed for the things we lost but will always have.