To Awake the Roar of the Lion Within

This piece began through a collaboration with Sebastian Buhts, Assistant Professor of Music at Lindenwood University (St. Charles, MO), which was decided in 2024 but fulfilled throughout 2025. When I was looking for ideas and materialsas well as a title appropriate for the universityI found their motto"to awake the roar of the lion within"and I immediately found inspiration. However, this phrase reminded me of the Jewish writings of Amos, to which Martin Luther King, Jr. alluded in his famous statement, "Let justice roll down like a mighty stream." In this writingas well as several other writings from pan-Asian cultureslions frequently depict victory, strength, reverence, judgment, struggle, and royalty. In this work, I attempt to synthesize all these traits in a way that is accessible yet unique, engaging yet thought-provoking. Therefore, Lindenwood University and their mission were seminal in the creation of this work. Yet they, and this piece, send a mission that extends far beyond their concert halls or building walls, one that encourages all to be impassioned for our convictions, persevering in our afflictions, and regal in our fruitions.