To Chase Your Wondering, Wandering Heart

Program Notes

The title comes from a particularly poetic line in Emily Winfield Martin’s children’s book, Day Dreamers—one of dozens of books I have had the pleasure of reading out loud to my two-year-old son, Robin. For me, this phrase captures the striving, yearning essence of what it means to be fully alive—an essence which I have tried to distill into notes.

 The music unfolds in four sections which follow one another without pause. I have supplied subtitles for each section, drawn from the book’s wealth of evocative passages. The first, “The land of waking dreams,” introduces the piece’s main theme: a lilting, Celtic-tinged lullaby which suggests far-off places and fantastical landscapes. A vigorous transition leads into the second section, “The wind that moves the clouds,” a spirited fanfare that evokes both flight and a swashbuckling sense of adventure. The third section, “In the pattering of raindrops,” is lyrical, elegiac, and inspired by the gentle wonder of the natural world. Finally, “They wait for your return” begins with a groovy, odd-metred riff on the opening lullaby that then segues into a joyous reprise of the fanfare theme.

 Like Martin’s book, this piece is a celebration of the imagination, and the secret whisperings of the heart which inspire us all to greater heights.

Performances

December 15, 2026 - West Island College Wind Ensemble, West Island College, Calgary AB.

Commissions and Awards

Commissioned by West Island College.