Premiered by Hans Boepple at Sonoma State University
“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
2021
Commissioned by Young Concert Artists for: Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Jeremy Denk, Ji, George Li, Anne-Marie McDermott, Ursula Oppens, Lise de la Salle, Paul Shaw, Louis Schwizgebel, and Andrew Tyson
2020
Commissioned By The Bromsgrove International Musicians Competition for Amy Dickson
2010
Commissioned by Young Concert Artists, Inc. for Charlie Albright
2008
Premiered by Hans Boepple at Sonoma State University
