In Between holds a very special place in my heart. This is an art song that is heavily influenced by the story telling found in musical-theater literature. I was still young in my composition career, and many friends were asking me for music to sing on their junior or senior voice recitals. One of my close friends, Audrey Burchfield, approached me with text she had written for a song when she was in high school and asked if I would be willing to turn it into an art song or musical theater piece. I enthusiastically agreed because I thought it would be a special experience to collaborate with the person who wrote the text, and I was right.

This poem, as Audrey explained to me, was written in response to a fresh and heavy heartbreak. One morning, she decided to just jot down her thoughts, and in doing so, I believe her words to be raw and real. They are relatable. Whether we like to tell the stories or not, heartbreak is a common experience, and when I wrote this song, I was also experiencing my own emotional hardship. I love the poem’s honesty and simplicity; it sounds extemporaneous, and I know it is very personal to her. I wanted the music to reflect this, so I tried my best to write a melody that followed the natural flow and inflection of the beautiful words Audrey wrote.

One late night when I was stuck, I called Audrey to ask her what her favorite chord was.  It was a silly question, but Audrey immediately fired back an answer quickly and with so much certainty. In case you wanted to know, it is a Cmaj7 chord because she always feels comforted when she hears it. In times of heartbreak and emotional struggle, that is what we need: comfort. So I went back to the piano and wrote the rest of the piece using that chord to form a melody.

I was blessed to play the piano on this piece at her recital, and that recording is below. This composition really influenced the rest of my time at TCU, and it remains one of my favorite compositions to date.