Performed live on May 13th, 2023 as part of Christopher Keach's first Doctoral Recital.

A Nation Unfinished by Jessica Meyer

Christopher Keach, trumpet

Lily Richards, cello

Alex Shafirov, piano

Program Notes:

Jessica Meyer is an award-winning composer and violist whose passionate musicianship radiates accessibility and emotional clarity. Her compositions explore the wide palette of emotionally expressive colors available to each instrument while using traditional and extended techniques inspired by her varied experiences as a contemporary and period instrumentalist. Meyer’s A Nation Unfinished was written in 2021 for the Silver Spruce Trio.

On A Nation Unfinished, Meyer writes, “In January 2021, our nation witnessed an attack on our capitol and the inauguration of a new President of the United States.

The days in between were fraught with horror, shock, sadness, and uncertainty - and this work is meant to express those moments.

Amanda Gorman's poem ‘The Hill We Climb’ was a highlight of the inauguration, and the title of my piece was inspired by the following passage:

Somehow we've weathered and witnessed

a nation that isn't broken

but simply unfinished

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This work was cathartic to write in order to process all that was going on, and I thank the Silver Spruce Trio for the opportunity.”

This is the Canadian Premiere of Meyer’s A Nation Unfinished.