Premiered by JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra
"Bravo to Rogerson for creating apiece people could enjoy on first hearing. This five-minute piece charmed. Rogerson has a flair for using the instruments' various colors...at the end of it, I heard someone saying he wished it were longer. That is high and rare praise in the world of contemporary music." -The Buffalo News
A Prayer for Spring seems like an appropriate title for a piece of mine, considering I grew up in Buffalo, New York, enduring endlessly long and snowy winters. I
remember that we prayed for spring in February on Groundhog Day, silently knowing that it was a hopeless cause. We prayed in March but
understood in our hearts that it would come in like a lion and leave like one. "April is the cruelest month," wrote T.S. Eliot--let's just say our prayers weren't answered then either. But this piece is about more than just hoping for warmer weather - it is about renewal. The opening texture evokes with wonder and awe. As the work progresses, there are moments of exuberance and happiness, and there are moments that are darker and more troubled. Finally, at the conclusion, there is a return to the opening sonority.
Subsequent performances with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra and the Grand Rapids Symphony
2018
Commissioned by the Lake George Music Festival with support from the New York State Council for the Arts
2015
Written for the Amarillo Symphony and the Manhattan Chamber Players
2010
Commissioned by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra for Paul Ferington
2009
2011 Aspen Music Festival Jacob Druckman Award
2008
Premiered by JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra
