"Fractures" was composed in late 2024, in a period of deep unrest and sorrow. Writing it became a way to process the pain I was witnessing and feeling—an attempt to give form to emotions that words could not hold. My musical voice is shaped by two worlds: the Russian conservatory tradition of my early years, and the life I built after immigrating to the United States. In Fractures, these roots intertwine with more contemporary influences, from the clarity and pulse of American minimalism to the sweeping orchestral colors I absorbed from my mentor, Christopher Theofanidis. The work opens with a theme I think of as “fate”—marked con dolore, steeped in grief. From there, the music moves through surges of urgency, passages of struggle, and flashes of fragile hope. The ending rises toward something powerful, yet resists resolution; it leaves a question hanging in the air. For me, Fractures became both a mirror and a compass during a complicated time. I hope it might speak to listeners in their own moments of searching. This piece is dedicated to Maestro Lawrence Loh, who has championed my music with generosity and belief since 2014.