Performed by Kandinsky Quartet

String Quartet no 6: “The Song of the Angel” is written for and dedicated to Esterhazy Quartet in celebration of their fiftieth anniversary season. This quartet is conceived as a single movement work in five sections. Song of The Angel is based on a near death experience I had as a child. When I was six years old I went to a summer resort with my family and while swimming in the pool wandered too far from the edge and began to drown.  As I sunk to the bottom a very peaceful feeling came over me and before I knew it my spirit gently separated from my body.

All of a sudden I have the feeling that I was traveling and when I came to rest I found myself in the most beautiful place. I heard my name spoken and when I turned around there was an angel standing there. She spoke to me so gently and sweetly that the sound of her voice was like a beautiful song. She explained to me what happened and told me what my life would be like if I retuned to the physical body. Gently I felt myself traveling again and with a sudden jolt was awake as a lady pulled me out of the water. The song the angel sang has inspired me though out my life to keep striving and growing as a person and as an artist.

My string quartet “Song of the Angel” is a work inspired by a spiritual experience I had as a child. When I was 7 years old I had a drowning accident and for a time left my body. During that time I traveled to a place that was so peaceful and other worldly. A utopian place completely free from care and stress. I saw an angel there and when she spoke to me it sounded like music. She told me about my life and send me back to help make the world a better place by imparting the peace I felt during our special encounter.