On July 24, 2015, at 7 PM in Given Auditorium on Colby College, Sang Woo Kang and Solungga Liu will perform the Maine premiere of Robert Paterson’s Deep Blue Ocean.
This concert is free and open to the public.
PROGRAM NOTES
Although Deep Blue Ocean is not meant to be overtly programmatic, I thought it would be wonderful to explore the oceanic depths, so during a trip to the Gulf of Mexico I became a certified scuba diver. I was truly inspired, whether by the large rolling waves on the open sea, the delicate back and forth of beds of seaweed, the vibrant colors of fish clustering around cities of coral, or the beams of sunlight that cascade over the ocean’s surface.
I was also inspired by my four year old son Dylan: his name means ocean or god of the seas in Welsh; he is an Aquarius, which means the water bearer; he is an excellent swimmer, and he loves listening to a movement of one of my choral works entitled Infinite Oceans.
While writing this piece, I could not have known that the worst oil spill in U.S. history would occur just north of where I visited. The darker moments in this work are the result of this tragedy. It is in three connected movements: The Darkness Below, Sunbeams and Waterfalls, and Accents and Waves.
Deep Blue Ocean is written for Stephen Gosling and Blair McMillen of the American Modern Ensemble and is dedicated to my son Dylan.