Voyage (2021)

Duration: 9 minutes

Performance by: The Elicio Winds

Commission Details:

This commission has been made possible by grants from the Alabama State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

The Elicio Winds would also like to thank the Auburn University College of Liberal Arts & Department of Music for their financial support of this project.

Program Note:

Voyage is an introspection about the concepts of journey and home inspired by NASA’s Voyager space exploration program. Voyager 1 and 2, while originally sent to survey distant planets in our solar system, are now the most distant human-made objects exploring interstellar space. As the Voyagers explore new wonders in the universe, they also carry a story of their home in the form of a ‘golden record,’ music time capsule for extraterrestrials to discover.

I recently moved to the Rocket City and am excited by new adventures and the exhilarating history of space exploration in Huntsville. Like the Voyagers, I carry pieces of my past with me, my own golden record, as I explore and innovate, trying to be part of something bigger than myself. The foreignness of Alabama can often feel isolating much like I imagine deep space to be for the Voyagers, but the journey is thrilling and with each discovery a new sense of purpose is found. Americans have always had a sense of restlessness fueled by a desire to explore and shape a new life. This is balanced by our need to belong, reflected in our traditions, values, and sense of self; our home. I look to my new city and its long history of space exploration for inspiration as I begin to make sense of my new home and find my place in this world.