Down Memory Lane

Symphonic Poem / 6’30” / Difficulty: Medium / 2025

Down Memory Lane is the third piece that I have written for the Magic Valley Symphony. Using the season theme “Music and Memory” as a springboard, the inspiration for this piece comesfrom none other than Mr. Theodore Hadley’s own works. Some themes from pieces he has written make an appearance in this work in an homage to one of the most welcoming people I know. 

Like reminiscing on a memory, the theme of Down Memory Lane keeps growing and changing throughout, starting simply in the piano and ultimately concluding with the entire orchestra participating in the theme. A rubato tempo conveys the mind’s journey through the past, ranging from hurriedly hopping from thought to thought, to calmy resting at specific memories. Peppered throughout are various interludes – just as how the mind can wander away, drawing connections to other experiences, Down Memory Lane captures more and more motifs by exploring the sections of the orchestra; the first with the low brass, the second with the winds, and the third with the high brass. Each interlude is lengthier than the previous, with the final one approaching the climax with a soaring trumpet melody and finally summiting with a surging duet in the horns and tenor tuba. The final statement of the main theme features the horn and bass clarinet in a stirring counter melody. 

The final minute of the work settles the piece down with a harmonic progression that recalls the opening bars of the piece. A minimalistic melody in the horn is continuously embellished, like a memory that is slowly unfurled in the mind, with punctuation provided by the winds and a countermelody in the bassoon, bass clarinet, and tenor tuba, concluding with high strings and harp.

Instrumentation