About
Musical Memorials
Death creates an incomprehensible void. How is the mind to grasp that the
one whom we knew and loved no longer exists when all of the memories,
feelings and associations related to them are still present?
I started composing Musical Memorials as a way of helping people heal from
the pain of loss. My first Musical Memorial was composed in memoriam of a
cat. I myself had recently endured the deaths of two beloved cats and wishing
to ease the grief of an acquaintance after her cat’s death, I decided to
dedicate a piece I was composing to her feline friend. It was my hope that
this music would be a comfort to her and help her in her healing process.
When I later mentioned this to a dear friend who runs a hospice and
rehabilitation center for animals, she enthusiastically urged me on. And the
more I thought about it the more I realized that that in the
emotional/spiritual language of music I had found a powerful vehicle for the
healing of grief.
My Musical Memorials were written for solo violin and piano and although
the pieces were short, composing them usually took some time. I had almost
always never met the person or animal to whom the piece was dedicated yet I
hope that I was able to intuitively capture their essence in the music
– rather like a musical haiku.
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hear Musical Memorials
