**A shining light in darkness deep** (2020) is originally a quartet for piano, glockenspiel (+bass drum), vibraphone, and marimba. In 2023, I created an alternative mallet quartet version for two marimbas and two vibraphones.
The work is made up of the following sections:
**slowly**, _like the push and pull of the tides_
**shimmering**, _like light reflecting through shallow water_
**smooth**, _like small ripples of waves over a bottomless sea_
**deep**, _like the vastness of the ocean floor_
**singing**, _like a wisp of wind over the surface of the sea_
**soothing**, _like the consistency of crashing waves_
This work finds inspiration in the words of Tom Marshall:
>_A song I heard the ocean sing
>A shining light in darkness deep
>I prayed a prayer into the tide
>And both they soothed me in my sleep_
It was composed for the UCF New Music Ensemble but never premiered due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was later premiered with the mallet quartet instrumentation at the 2023 Victoria Bach Festival in Victoria, TX.
Duration is approximately 4:00.