As I was born in St. Louis, Missouri and grew up both there and in central Michigan, Joseph Giunta thought of commissioning me for the Des Moines Symphony’s ‘Music from the Heartland’ project. The result is a ‘sequel’ to Millennium Canons, which I wrote for the Boston Pops in 2001. In both works, I adopt the age-old practice of contrapuntal imitation to create active textures that dance along the top of broad, hymn-like melodies. I live on the East Coast now, but the Midwest is still in my blood and very much a part of who I am. I believe this is reflected quite unmistakably in both the harmonic flavor of Heartland and in its expansive phraseology.