Winter Sky

The first one!
I wrote "Winter Sky" in memory of my wife's great-grandmother. I only had the privilege of meeting her once, when I visited Russia in 2012, and she gave me a pair of socks she had crocheted. She was 97 years old, and I remember feeling so humbled by all of the history she had experienced and witnessed.
A couple of years later, I reached out to Roger Emerson to ask him if he would mind taking a look at it, and to my surprise, he agreed -- and to my even greater surprised, he agreed to arrange it! It got picked up by Hal Leonard, making it my first published piece. I will be forever grateful to Mr. Emerson for this incredible act of generosity.
I'll also never forget Marty Lassman, who taught at the Cab Calloway School of the Arts, agreeing to have his incredible students perform the piece. I played piano for them for the performance, and hearing their voices producing the words and music I had written was a crystalizing moment in my life, at the point when I realized this was what I wanted to do with my life.