Composer Notes: 

Faith is something that I have struggled with throughout my years. Whether it was spiritual or personal, it has been a challenge of mine for as long as I can remember. So many times we want larger questions answered in our lives immediately. For example, what will I do for a career, is there someone out there for me, what happens after life? What we have to remember is that life is not meant to be answered, rather, it is meant to be explored. Sometimes the answer is right in front of our faces; however, we have to live life and go through different phases in order to interpret it.

The poem “Eldorado”, by Edgar Allan Poe, tells a similar story of an individual trying to find an answer in his life of, is there really a golden city of Eldorado? As he searches and searches he does not finds the city; however, the answer is always in front of him. It is not until he is on his death bed that he notices a “Shadow.” This mysterious shadow challenges him to have faith and trust in the unknown. Go, “over the mountains of the moon and down the valley of shadow.”

As you go through life, you will experience answers that are gray, or “shadowy,” and that is completely normal. Sometimes you have to have faith and explore the unknowns in life in order to understand. There is only one thing certain in this life and that is that nothing is certain. The answer is always what we least expect. It may not always be pleasing, but it will always help us to grow. Although the knight may not have found a tangible city of gold, perhaps he found his city where he least expected it, in the great beyond. However, I will leave y