"A Hero's Tale" This specific recital program has a few purposes: first, after making some changes to my approach to playing over the past year, I wanted to construct a program that would push me technically and physically while also being enjoyable for an audience to experience; second, I wanted to feature music that my FLC students could potentially perform successfully on their own degree recitals; third, I wanted to feature new music or new arrangements of old music (all music was written or arranged since 2017); and fourth, I wanted to experiment with programming music that told a story as the recital unfolds. While these pieces may not seem to “go together” in a typical sense, the emotions conveyed through the music is the connective tissue. The story starts on a dark, cold winter’s night, where the Hero hears the call summoning them to their trials – they feel in their heart the earnest desire to save others from untold evil. Unsure of what awaits, the Hero needs Bravery, Integrity, and Courage to face the challenges. In Part 2, the Hero celebrates victory in a celebratory ball, where they meet eyes with – and immediately falls for – their benefactor’s eldest (adult-aged) child. By the end of Part 2, the Hero is being told “Oh, Never Sing to Me Again” as their heart has been torn in two – the benefactor’s child has soundly rejected the Hero. Part 3 skips ahead several years, and the peaceful, pastoral, nostalgic, folksong-like melody lingers in the Hero’s ear, reminding them of a lifetime of memories, as they drift into the eternities. -Joe Nibley-