JOY STEPPIN’
BY NOKUTHULA NGWENYAMA

The creation of “Joy Steppin’” written for Espressivo! was co-commissioned by: Linton Chamber Music, generously supported by Ann and Harry Santen (world premiere); Apex Concerts; Arizona Friends of Chamber Music; Brattleboro Music Center; Chamber Music Albuquerque; Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland; Denver Friends of Chamber Music; El Paso ProMusica; Emory Chamber Music Society; Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music Festival; Hudson Valley Chamber Music Circle; International Violin Competition of Indianapolis and Ensemble Music Society of Indianapolis; Kansas City Friends of Music; Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival; Peoples’ Symphony Concerts; Phoenix Chamber Music Society; Portland Ovations; Schubert Club; Seattle Chamber Music Society; and Syracuse Friends of Chamber Music through the International Arts Foundation, Inc. World Premiere October 20-21, 2024 in Cincinnati, OH.

A NOTE FROM THE COMPOSER

When Sharon Robinson of the fabulous piano quartet Espressivo! kindly invited me to write a piece for the ensemble, she offered this prompt: Embrace the joy that is all around us! I was honored to accept.

“Happiness” skirts around the edges, while “joy” settles deep and carries us beyond the abyss. Joy can be a challenge to cultivate, but it remains one of our great human gifts. Joy – on both a personal and universal level – draws from the same deep wellspring as grief, celebrating our capacity for love, compassion and generosity. It is ever hopeful, drawing us forward, embracing and nourishing the human capacity to make things better.

Joy Steppin’ anxiously begins walking along the shallow side of happy. It then settles and reflects, through the piú lento, adagio, and piú andante, before toe-tapping into its G minor dance theme of the title. And then, just before the final section brings the work to a close, the cello and piano take a deep breath, create a sliding, reverberating tone, a deep spiritual sound that begins low and gradually rises – like a meditational “Om ॐ”– providing a unifying moment to allow us to feel our interconnectedness.

As I was composing, I was uplifted reading The Book of Joy by the 14th Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu with Douglas Abrams and moved by the words of Dr. Brittney Cooper: Joy is an invitation to make new worlds rather than being held hostage to the old ones[1].

To which I add this wish: May all beings know love, compassion, peace and the experience of stepping into joy.

Thanks very much to Espressivo! - Anna Polonsky, Jaime Laredo, Milena Pájaro-van de Stadt and Sharon Robinson - for including me in this blessing. Thanks also very much to the International Arts Foundation, Inc. for supporting the creation of this work and to the commissioners: Linton Chamber Music, generously supported by Ann and Harry Santen (world premiere); Apex Concerts; Arizona Friends of Chamber Music; Brattleboro Music Center; Chamber Music Albuquerque; Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland; Denver Friends of Chamber Music; El Paso Pro Musica; Emory Chamber Music Society; Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music Festival; Hudson Valley Chamber Music Circle; International Violin Competition of Indianapolis and Ensemble Music Society of Indianapolis; Kansas City Friends of Music; Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival; Peoples’ Symphony Concerts; Phoenix Chamber Music Society; Portland Ovations; Schubert Club; Seattle Chamber Music Society; and Syracuse Friends of Chamber Music.

[1] Smith College. “Reflecting Joy and Justice.” Last modified November 26, 2023. Accessed October 11, 2024. https://www.smith.edu/news-events/news/reflecting-joy-and-justice. (Dr. Cooper is an award-winning author, commentator and professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Africana Studies at Rutgers University.)

Nokuthula Ngwenyama, 2024