JANUARY 19, 2020
Devin Arrington
Heavenward
(Meditation for Violin)
Devin Arrington, violin
The pdf is for viewing only. Please contact the composer for further use.
PROGRAM NOTES:
Heavenward: Meditation for Violin is the result of 40 years of study and performing Western classical violin, 5 summers of studying South Indian Carnatic violin, travels to India, and my graduate studies in composition. I am trying to musically express God’s love for all people, and my musical response to that love. This is a solo violin piece with tanpura accompaniment. The violin is tuned “Indian style” F#, C#, F#, C#. It was composed this past October and I recorded it in November. I’ve put together a couple dozen photos of beautiful Indian landscapes and people to go along with the piece at my YouTube channel – check it out!
STATEMENT OF FAITH:
When I was 18 and going through a particularly trying time, I was outside crying and praying and heard 3 distinct words spoken (more like whispered) in my left ear: “I’m proud of you.” I’ve had harder times since, and it befuddles me why God chooses to speak to us at some times, and at other times is silent. In any event, the moment I heard those words, I remember skipping around my house singing God’s praises. When I doubt that I actually heard what I thought I heard, I just remember how quickly my mourning was turned to dancing. Following this, I read through the Bible for the first time on my own in conjunction with Oswald Chambers My Utmost For His Highest. It was a powerful combination. We often talk in Christian circles about how much God loves us – and He does! But I would also like to add that just as fathers love their children, they are also immensely proud of them! Even when we mess up, God is not unable to sympathize with our weaknesses and understands both the frailty and strength of the human spirit.
BIO:
Award-winning violinist and composer Devin Arrington has performed all over the world in venues as far reaching as Carnegie Hall in New York City and the Great Hall of the Composers in Moscow. This year Mr. Arrington was a winner of the 2019 Pittsburgh Concert Society Major Auditions on solo violin. He has performed with singer Jackie Evancho, guitar legend Phil Keaggy, and is currently a first violin member of the Westmoreland Symphony. His compositions have been performed by the Cuarteto Latinoamericano, WSO, Edgewood Symphony, and Ohio Northern University Orchestra, among others. While still a graduate student, Mr. Arrington won the New York Youth Symphony’s First Music Prize for his String Quartet #2 which led to a 2005 premiere performance at Carnegie Hall and in 2006 he was awarded a Fellowship in Music Composition from the Pennsylvania Council for the Arts. In 2010, he created Musicians With A Mission (MWAM) to “bring more of Pittsburgh’s talented musicians into local healthcare settings.” After coordinating over a hundred performances each year at local healthcare facilities, Pittsburgh’s NPR station (WQXR 90.5) featured MWAM in its 2018 segment “90 Neighborhoods, 90 Good Stories.” Mr. Arrington holds a B.A. degree in Music from Middlebury College (summa cum laude) and M.M. degree in Music Composition from Carnegie Mellon University. His principal teachers have included Salvatore Princiotti, Yehonatan Berick, Huei-Sheng Kao, and Leonardo Balada. Mr. Arrington teaches violin and composition both privately in Morningside and at Duquesne University’s City Music Center. He performs on a 2001 Joseph Curtin violin.