Time After All

Program Notes:

In my 20s, my mother was diagnosed with early on-set dementia. I subsequently learned my grandfather died of Alzheimer’s at age 55. Allegedly, I my chances of developing the disease by my mid-fifties hovered at 50%. Always a high achiever, I was driven to learn, to accomplish, as the weight of an early demise was heavy. At 38, as I continued to work full time I returned to my first love, composing. Composing since age 9, I had not studied it in college. Time felt fleeting. I crammed as much into my life as possible, including hiking and backpacking across the country. Finishing graduate school with high honors, I began my compositional career, frustrated I wasn’t moving forward faster. As I aged past my grandparents, past my mother’s diagnosis, with no sign of dementia, I realized I have TIME, AFTER ALL.

– Christina Rusnak, 2023

FINALIST – 2025 American Prize for Orchestra – Professional Division