commissioned by Jennifer Oliverio

The word vernal can refer to two things: youthfulness or the season of spring. Sunday is also the beginning of a new week. The commissioner, Jennifer, said to me that she enjoys watching her child explore and discover the world for the first time. When we think of childhood, we also think of the spring season and things associated with it, such as butterflies, gardens, lush fields, trees, and water. A Vernal Sunday explores the emotions associated with being a child in the season of spring or summer, especially on Sundays when the entire family is most likely together, with endless play and discovery in the outside world that seems so vast when we’re so young and haven’t seen everything there is to a particular region. The music moves between slower and faster tempi in both duple and compound meters, lending to the feeling of discovery, playfulness, and unpredictability throughout.