John Wesley Gibson, Composer

Following are program notes for performance of various recent works.  Other notes and information are available upon request.

The Spirit of Ellis Island

John Wesley Gibson, 2009

Part I:  Dreams of a New World:  Of all the reasons people of the old world dreamed of a new life in the young United States, the two most prominent were escape and opportunity:  escape from tyranny, famine, poverty and repression; and the opportunity to make a new, better life.  In another time, when the world was big and the oceans were great barriers, the mythology of this new world was passed mostly by word of mouth and grew with each passing.  Some yearned to leave their old world behind for the new, and others were more reluctant but resigned to journey across the sea to create a new beginning for themselves and their families.

Part II:  Journey to the Land of Promise: At the time, there was no other way to travel.  The journey to the land of promise was an ocean voyage on one of the great ocean steamers or smaller merchant ships of the day.  For those who could only afford $30 for a steerage ticket, the destination was Ellis Island.  For others, the first- and second-class passengers, the destination was the Port of New York and embarkation directly into the city.  Many families chose to send one of their own ahead, a father or an older child to stake a claim in the new nation, to work and to make enough money to send for the rest.  Sometimes they were never heard from again, but most often they sent for their loved ones, and the majority of those passing through Ellis Island in the twentieth century were joining relatives already in the United States.

Part III:  Prayers by the Light of Liberty’s Torch:  Of all the mythology of the new world, one of the most prominent images was that of Lady Liberty lifting up her torch, welcoming all to her land of equality and opportunity.  For many immigrants, she was the sign for which they searched the horizon, the symbol of the end of their journey from an old life to a new life.  As she emerged out of the mist and into sight, some knelt and whispered prayers, some shouted and danced, and some thanked their God for safe delivery.  But all were awed and touched by the sight of the great lady – the myth becoming real.

Part IV:  The Golden Door:  Immigrants passing through the Golden Door found not only freedom and opportunity, but also challenges.  At the beginning of the Twentieth Century, the great ethnic and cultural cauldron that New York City had become and that our nation would become, boiled and bubbled, blending together more and more diverse people searching for the opportunity to make their way.  Many built upon their old world skills, and created new prospects for other immigrants.  Many ventured into the west, where a strong back and determination provided these new Americans with escape from the sweatshops or the menial labors of city life and the chance to shape our growing country.  Many entered the Land of Promise through the Golden Door and succeeded; some entered only to endure new struggles; but few returned to the life they had left behind.  And as our nation began to grow as no other had grown, sown with seeds from lands around the world, the United States became the nation of immigrants it is today. 

California Suite

John WesleyGibson, 2003

Golden Gate

The Golden Gate Bridge is one of the most beautiful man-made structures I have ever seen.  It is functional, minimal and perfectly proportioned for the space it occupies.  Crossing this great monument to the resilience and ingenuity of the American people gave me a new perspective on life and restored my confidence in the future.

Highway One

The long California coast line is a remarkable and beautiful thing to see.  It is both attractive and foreboding.  Traveling up Highway One, just out of reach of the Pacific on the precipice of the coast, there are constantly changing vistas - always different and always the same - passing by in an eternal oceanic rhythm that suspends the sense of time.  It is monotonous beauty.

Heritage Grove

Commissioned by Jack Delaney for the Interlochen Center for the Arts, Summer 2003

Heritage Grove is a small stand of old-growth giant Sequoia redwoods on Alpine Road, between Palo Alto and La Honda in California.  It is a natural cathedral where the elder trees, many hundreds of years old, assisted by the novitiates, only a few hundred years old, cantilever the sky so it doesn’t splash into the earth.  A life-giving creek flows through the apse of the grove and a simple altar at the base of one of the greatest giants is lit by sunlight only at noon.  This quiet place is only threatened by two things – fire and man.  That which fire may destroy will be restored, but that which man may destroy is forever gone.

Hyde Street Pier

Hyde Street Pier moors some of the great ships of America .  They are the vessels that were the backbone of the development of California and the United States .  Materials, tools and supplies to build a new country; rails, timbers and even locomotives for the great Transcontinental Railroad; and hundreds of thousands of people from around the world streamed into San Francisco during the latter half of the nineteenth century, and the city on the bay became the international port of call it is today.