This fantastic new work emerged from an intensely personal and emotional experience that the composer has chosen to share through music. Following her husband's sudden death, Naylor found a handwritten note that said "Be strong and strengthened", which had a profound effect in helping her cope with grief. Naylor's work uses a motive that represents the devastating stroke that claimed her husband's life, and leads the listener through some of the emotions she felt in grieving: loss, aloneness (not to be confused with loneliness), dread, some anger, anxiety. These feelings are evoked through various compositional techniques, one of which requires the trombonist to create a rarely-heard, ethereal tone colour by playing with part of the instrument removed. A harmon-muted sound represents the appearance of the message, a march-like figure based on the rhythm of the words "Be strong and strengthened", which leads the work to an uplifting and triumphant conclusion.
This work was created with a grant awarded by the Prince Edward Island Council of the Arts on behalf of the Department of Education, Early Learning and Culture.
