Fireworks

On the first weekend I moved to New York City, my apartment building hosted a Labor Day party on our rooftop in Brooklyn. I remember looking out towards the East River and seeing the skyline of Manhattan and Brooklyn shine in the summer night. I was awe-struck. At that moment I knew I was going to be renewed with creative energy and a new sense of artistic purpose.

It took me some time before I began thinking about this piece however, which only began to take shape late that fall. As an orchestration assignment at NYU we were tasked with writing a two-minute chamber orchestra piece which was going to be read and recorded by the Budapest Symphony at the end of the semester. For this assignment I wanted to pull out all the bells and whistles and make an exciting piece that was filled with the energy I felt in that moment on the rooftop.

This two-minute version begins around two-thirds of the way through the piece (measure 144) and continues to the end. After a successful recording session, I brought up the desire to make an overture-length full orchestra piece to my professor, who encouraged me to pursue the idea and oversaw its construction.

While writing I reflected on my experiences in NYC so far. I kept thinking about how loud and buzzing everything was, how the lights never turned off, how cars and trains flew by constantly.

One theme kept tying these things together, which was fireworks. There's many pieces about fireworks (from Igor Stravinsky to Katy Perry), but what drew me to the subject was an utter fascination with the marvel of human ingenuity.

As I write these notes, the Artemis II mission just arrived back on Earth after circling around the moon. It was a wonderful moment, one that makes me glad that I live in this time, and it was a moment that made me hope for humanity. The very next day, the United States administration threatened slashing NASA's budget, while they spend billions on war overseas.

I say this not to make any kind of political statement, but so that you might better understand this piece, and my own mindset towards writing music. This piece is a celebration, a celebration of all the wonderful parts of humanity. This piece is designed to make you feel excited, hopeful, or maybe even "fired" up.

—Adam Harrington