In 2023 I was approached by Concertgebouw de Vereeniging, the municipal concert hall of Nijmegen, to write a piece for solo piano to celebrate the centennial celebration of the Radboud University in Nijmegen. The piece was then gifted to the university by the concert hall to the university at the Dies Natalis celebrations. The piece was premiered by Seán Morgan Rooney at the Concertgebouw de Vereeniging with the King of The Netherlands in attendance. Later, the piece was performed again at the university itself.
The piece’s title, Facultas, translates to a myriad of words, amongst which: ability, opportunity and possibility, all words that resonate with the Radboud University and core values to many students pursuing an academic career. The piece translates those values to music through energetic changes throughout the musical structure: sudden tempo changes, a wide ambitus across the piano’s keyboard and wildly varying dynamics, all things that relate to an academic career.
