Noble Pond, for solo piano

“Mr. Rogerson's Noble Pond, a tribute to a child accidentally shot dead in Oklahoma, had a spectral flow and a satisfying arc." -The New York Times

This work was originally written for solo piano in the early summer of 2008 before I decided to orchestrate it in early 2009. I wrote it a little less than a year after hearing tragic news while watching CNN. In August 2007, Austin Haley and his grandfather went out to a pond near Noble, Oklahoma to go fishing. Simultaneously, police received a call about a snake sighting and reported to the pond. An officer fired at the snake and his first shot skipped off the pond. The second shot hit Austin in the head, killing him. He was five years old.

There is no way to portray the grief and sadness experienced by the Haley family and those that knew Austin; this piece is simply my reaction to a terrible tragedy.

Dedicated to the memory of Austin, and to his family

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