In composing this piece, I was inspired by a rare moment of lightness of mood from Philip Larkin in his poem “Coming,” about the first signs of spring. I felt from the beginning that It Will Be Spring Soon would be a joyous expression, and this feeling was only amplified by my excitement to write for the six musicians who make up the musical group yMusic, all of them friends, unparalleled virtuosi, and musical polymaths. Buzzing textures vibrate not only as the sounds of bees, hummingbirds, and other early pollinators, but also as the vast potential energy in everything around us. Brash explosions of sound and melody are full of hope and forceful exuberance.

The work begins with a hint at the first theme, broken up between the instruments in a fanfare-like outburst, which leads directly into the main material of the first section. Spiccato 32nd notes from the violin and soft trills in the woodwinds form a quietly energized texture over which the viola soars, stating the first theme as a sustained melody, which is as broad and lyrical as the texture underneath it is frenetic. Throughout the work, it is the mid-range instruments (viola and later on, the alto flute) that emerge not as subservient voices, but as protagonists. The cello grounds the rhythm with buoyant pizzicato interjections, occasionally joining in with the other strings in the spiccato notes. As the opening material is chopped up and compressed, short motivic cells and angular tone clusters are passed rapidly between the players, and the music becomes more agitated.

Following a strong unison cadence, a softer and more searching passage unfolds with the second theme in the alto flute, joined in turn by the other instruments. The trumpet and cello soar over asymmetric undulating chords, leading to canonic waves of sound and motion as the music gains measured intensity. The clarinet then takes the melody with the alto flute in a quietly ecstatic and intertwining duet, becoming increasingly more peaceful as the music trails softly upward.

A sudden return to the opening material is marked by the initial outburst, this time in fortissimo, as the music rises to an almost manic joyfulness. The players are pushed toward their expressive and virtuosic limits as melodic cells are again passed between the players, with sudden shifts in character, dynamics, and register. In the final moments of the piece it is the viola, once again, which is featured in a gentle and nostalgic memory of the opening fanfare, bringing the work to a thoughtful close.