Eternal Now

commissioned by and written for Clayton Trumbull

premiered April 15, 2025 - Recital Hall, Penn State University (University Park, PA)

“The past is history, the future, an expectation. There is only eternal now.”

- Alan Watts, The Art of Meditation

Rather than invoking a transcendent or spiritual sense of the present, Eternal Now challenges the audience to confront time as a series of shifting, immediate sensations, free from the weight of nostalgia or anticipation. The ‘now’ is not timeless; it is a relentless, immediate experience, both fleeting and ever-present, grounding us firmly in the moment without spiritual refuge. Eternal Now was written for my dear friend and colleague Clayton Trumbull.

Eternal Now utilizes an indeterminate notation system modeled after Aaron Cassidy’s The Crutch of Memory and Brendan Sweeney’s Image Described. This piece can be performed on any bowed 4-string instrument of any tuning. The premiere was performed on viola. The notation reflects the Western orchestral idiom. While it may be easiest to perform Eternal Now on violin, viola, violoncello, or bass, any bowed 4-string instrument may be used (e.g., kamancheh).