ABOUT THE COMPOSITION The Field receives its name from 'the field' located behind my childhood home in Springfield, Manitoba. Growing up, the field was a place of refuge and solitude - a place to get away from the tediousness of everyday life. Returning home as an adult, the field continues to have the same calming effect, despite the changes that have worn and tamed its surface. The piece's first movement depicts the serenity of enjoying a warm, summer sky at dusk while the second movement frenetically imagines running through the field, jumping and playing to the familiar, rural echoes of whistling trains. Melodic material and tonal framework is grown from two sources: the physical coordinates of the field, and Aaron Copland's intimate ballet score, Appalachian Spring.

The Field is lovingly dedicated to my parents on their anniversary. Like Appalachian's pioneering bride and groom, they have weathered many storms, being strongly rooted in the humblest of beginnings.