Through the Gates of the Crystal Garden was written for Roberta Stephen.
During the summer of 2002, the Alliance for Canadian New Music Projects commissioned four emerging Canadian composers to compose solo/duet works for young performers. This was one of the many government-funded programs that sponsored and supported the creation of new repertoire for student performers. I was fortunate to have been one of those four composers. Due to the nature of this commission, and for pedagogical purposes, I decided to keep the musical profile of this piece simple and the technical demands within modest levels. As well, I decided to place the emphasis on music's lyricism. My goal was to provide the performer a piece that would help the development of their lyrical playing.
