Inimmediate Gratfication explores the idea of delayed gratification. The work starts out by setting up a large dominant to D major in the opening minute and a half. This dominant is not resolved, and instead moves ‘deceptively’ to Bb Major. In Bb major the music again builds up, this time bursting into a gratifying lyrical fugato – a delayed gratification for all of the building and building of the first two thirds of the piece. Following this fugato there is an extended dominant as there was in the piece’s opening except this time on the dominant of Bb major. The piece then comes full circle when the A of the F dominant chord is reinterpreted as V of D finally producing the cadence that the opening section was searching for. This D major chord is repeated twice, and when it sounds like it will be repeated one last time the piece ends with a final stroke of wit – a Bb both resolving the F dominant chord that was deceived with a D major chord, and reminding us that the piece itself started off with an enigmatic Bb against the repeated A that was otherwise clearly just setting up D major.

Inimmediate Gratification was commissioned by the Berkeley College Orchestra

Performance Time: Approx. 4 minutes 30 seconds