Now is the Time

Now Is The Time (A Song of Hope) was written in the Fall of 2013 in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of civil rights leader Martin Luther King's famous 'I Have A Dream' speech, given on August 28, 1963 in Washington, D.C. The piece was written as a tribute to Dr. King's life and work, as well as the many other civil rights activists who fought so courageously for equality and an end to racial injustice in the 1950's and 1960's. More broadly, it is a musical portrayal of the pursuit of freedom and equality that many in our country still dream of.
In his speech, Dr. King asks for the United States to hold true to its founding doctrines of equality for all men and women, and freedom from oppression. The piece begins with a clarinet solo, so simple and pure. It represents the basic ideals of our founding fathers and the American Dream. So as our country began with these ideals the piece starts with this motive and it appears throughout the work.