Beneath the Ocean Waves
for String Orchestra
Program Notes
Beneath the Ocean Waves is a piece that was composed as an emotional release from the near-lethal events suffered by my dog, Gunner. He suffered from an auto-immune disease that, if not treated correctly, slowly harmed him from the inside. The piece was tied to this event when he looked at me with crying eyes, pleading for help, as I felt helpless because I could not fix the problem. In the third incident, my parents and I decided that putting him down was the best choice to release him from this suffering, but none of us had the willpower to follow through with it. This piece was written in his memory but also represents my emotional response including how I wanted to ignore what was happening around me.
The title, Beneath the Ocean Waves, refers to the harmonic progression, especially in the first measure, which reminded me of the ocean from underneath the water. When submerged, there is almost no motion except the currents moving around, and nearly no light because of the depth. The ending depicts the sinking feeling to the bottom of the ocean, where I could finally be at rest from what is happening above in the real world.
Purchase
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Performances
Sewanee Summer Music Festival Lab Orchestra | University of the South, Sewanee, TN | July 14th, 2022 | Sewanee Summer Music Festival
Brandon Gasaway’s KSU String Orchestra | Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA | April 27th, 2024 | Brandon Gasaway’s Senior Recital