The Hope Within was commissioned by the University of the Incarnate Word Wind Ensemble, Brett A. Richardson, Conductor, in memory of the conductor’s mother, Becky Bailey Richardson (1952-2016) who lost her life after a tragic battle with depression.  The composer writes, "While sitting at the piano one day sketching material for this piece, I found myself in tears as I reflected upon the difficulties and hardships in my own life and the lives of family members and friends close to me. Addiction, abuse, the unexpected death of a young child, financial stress, depression, infidelity -- all of us are going through hard things, real things, things that seem impossibly hard to get through on our own.  I offer this composition as my testimony that the Master Healer can and will "bind up the brokenhearted" (Isaiah 61:1).  My hope rests on His power, grace and love.  I pray that each of us can find peace and solace, even in hard times, as "partaker[s] of his hope" (1 Corinthians 9:10)."