“Many people seem to think it foolish, even superstitious, to believe that the world could still change for the better. And it is true that in winter it is sometimes so bitingly cold that one is tempted to say, ‘What do I care if there is a summer; its warmth is no help to me now.’ Yes, evil often seems to surpass good. But then, in spite of us, and without our permission, there comes at last an end to the bitter frosts. One morning the wind turns, and there is a thaw. And so I must still have hope.”

Vincent Van Gogh

Vincent really understood something when he wrote this. I mean, we all have hard times, and at times they can be overwhelming. It can make the good feel terrible, or irrelevant. When that happens, we feel miserable, sometimes even worthless. Then, sometimes suddenly, the world is no longer as terrible as it seemed. You can start to see the plants come back to life. Things seem like, they could get better.

I’ve been writing the 7 pieces in this album for 8 years. Each piece is inspired by that moment when you know things are going to get better. Not when they are better, not when they’re terrible, but that transition step in between when you can tell it is getting better.

Though the pieces in the album are not in chronological order, I’ll provide the explanations of each in chronological order here:

Winter’s Digression was when I got accepted to BYU and its Music Composition program after getting tendinitis from practicing too hard and having to switch audition instruments 2 times. Originally was going to audition on my main instrument, violin. Tendinitis got so bad I had to cancels weeks before the audition. Then I tried to practice for a piano audition, again, had to cancel. Then I asked the vocal department, had 8 weeks to learn to sing and prepare. I even had to ask them for a voice teacher referral. When the time came, I made it in. The composition department had unofficially accepted me before and lived up to their promise.

Peroration was shortly after that while I was in school, taking my first semester and composition classes. I had felt like the entire previous year was a waste and hadn’t accomplished anything of note. But things were looking up finally pursuing my dream of being a composer.

Time Precis was at the end of my university experience. I was about to go on an internship to Estonia. I had also decided shortly before that I was no longer going to pursue a video game composer career, and that I wanted more freedom to write. I call it the “Charles Ives Approach” , since I learned in music literature that he had a day job and just composed on his own. I believe he had the freedom to write what he did because he was not a part of the university scene nor depending on his music for a paycheck.

Drifting was written after coming to terms after a breakup. We went on our last date and on coming home, I wrote this.

Wind’s Air was after getting married, losing my job, and finding a WAY better job. I had conquered not only dating, but also got a job that proved to be a huge blessing. Much more stable during covid and a boss that appreciates me. It’s also been the best job since joining the professional world.

Black Ink’s Shadow was written after our bunny, Sumi, broke her hind leg and we found out bunnies don’t really heal from that. She was in lots of pain even woke up with a fever sweat. While coming to terms with that, I wrote this piece.

Bridling Your Passion
Freaking covid and a difficult financial year. It’s holiday season and we want it to be nice. We’ve been locked in for 8 months, living off one income in CA, and saving were slowly bleeding out. It was stressful. By no means were we in the red zone, but teetering on the edge was not fun. But opportunities that could work started popping up, and we stopped bleeding out.

So go listen to the album now on your favorite streaming service!