Musings . . . Stephen Hopkins

A dozen years ago I somehow wound up as Vice President for Governmental Policy for the Florida Chamber of Commerce in Tallahassee, Florida. I was making more money than I may ever see again, lobbying the legislative and executive branches of state government, wearing starched shirts and suits, rubbing elbows with the players in the halls of power; but I was dying inside. After some soul searching--what some might describe as a mid-life occupational crisis--I knew I had to return to music.

A year later I was hired as Music Director of North Florida Community College. I was teaching music again, and I was composing for two ensembles that I directed. Returning to music after five years of working out-of-field was wonderfully energizing! One of the pieces I composed for the NFCC jazz ensemble was "Second Spring." The title speaks to me of a sort of rebirth that I think we can experience in middle age when we reconnect with those things--the ideals, the passions--that motivated us when we were young.

Here's the piano version of "Second Spring." It's the opening track on Meditations in Blue. I think you'll hear that it's a pretty buoyant, outgoing piece. I hope you like it!

Second Spring

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