Patrick Vu is a composer and conductor from Allen, Texas.

In August 2023, On the Hillside was named the winner of the 2023 ACDA Brock Prize for Student Composers. This piece was composed at the very start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 when we were all trapped in our own homes. I felt very uninspired and stressed as I was making the transition to online schooling, but eventually I became extremely bored. So I sat down to read some poetry, and I stumbled upon this poem by Radclyffe Hall (1880-1943) and felt inspired for the first time in months. Under the light of a single piano lamp, I stayed up all night drafting ideas and melodies. This would become the first piece I completed after the start of the pandemic.

The text for this piece paints this beautiful and gentle love scene where one person watches their partner fall asleep next to them; a sign of immense trust. While their partner sleeps, the poet describes the natural beauty around them and how their heart beats passionately, but through it all, they let their partner sleep undisturbed. I like to imagine that the poet also falls asleep with them as the piece fades away. We often overlook how special it is to share that level of vulnerability with someone, and this piece calls us to recognize that through silence and stillness.