Member's Recital

Program

Notes on First Snow for Solo Piano

2025 MMTA Commissioned Composition

First Snow for Solo Piano, is an abbreviation of the full title, First Mississippi Snow for Sonny Zane Hong. The inspiration for the piece came on a snowy day in January of 2025. This was my baby boy’s first time experiencing snow shortly after his first birthday. I happened to receive a commission from MMTA that same day, and I immediately knew the piece would memorialize that moment.

The piece is built on two musical motives: stepwise melodic motion and the perpetual irregularity of rhythm. The piece utilizes groupings of 5, 5, 7, 5, 5, and 5 sixteenth notes juxtaposed against a 4/4 time signature. The listener may sense a rhythmic pattern, yet it remains elusive because the grouping is highly irregular. I was inspired by the sounds of nature, which rarely conform to human expectations of time but embody perpetual repetition. This consistent irregularity, like natural sounds themselves, holds mundane beauty that brings comfort. 

Snow in Mississippi is a rare phenomenon—just like my Korean-Mexican-American baby boy. On those rare occasions when the glistening snow covers every inch of our state, are we in awe of the magnificent beauty of nature, or do we fear the havoc the resulting ice may cause? In this time of political divisiveness and unrelenting violence, we often retreat into our shells and reject anything outside our perception of ordinary, labeling it as dangerous. Does rarity equal danger? Isn’t the Mississippi snow one of the most beautiful sights you’ve ever seen, more so because it’s rare? It is my sincerest hope that Sonny, in all of his rarest beauty, will be embraced and loved by those around him. Just as the wonder of snow-covered Mississippi stirs our soul, may he fill the hearts of those in his community with love and compassion. 

Tae-Young Hong