A Beacon Of Hope

Program Notes

A Beacon of Hope is a piece commissioned by the Concord Symphony to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the battle of the Old North Bridge.  This event sparked a military conflict which ultimately resulted in America becoming an independent nation.   

In composing this work, I tried to imagine what this fateful day might have felt like for the citizens of Concord, Massachusetts.  By the time this battle happened, it was clear the thousands of minutemen who ultimately became an army were preparing for the inevitable - a full blown war with the British.  

My peace begins peacefully, and gradually builds as we approach a point of no return in the standoff at the bridge. After a quiet exchange of woodwind passages, the first signs of alarm are sounded by a high piccolo (fife) and a low bass drum.  The emotional landscape is one of anxiety, energy, cacophony, and ultimately triumph and hope.  It’s hard to underestimate the radical act of bravery and audacity of our former patriots.  Their means of self organizing and building a battle plan as they went along feels very indicative of the American spirit.  The ceaseless drive and urge to innovate and make something unique out of a new opportunity.

The piece ends with a return to quietude and reflection.   The work of these patriots in Concord is a marker in a long march through 250 years of the story of our nation.  It’s a journey full of trial and error, failure and success, division and unity that is our messy, but to me and hopefully all of you, ever hopeful American experiment.  

– Jeff Beal