The first movement of Two Dialogues, entitled “Reminiscence,” is based on an abandoned sketch from about five years ago, which was originally for solo piano. As an anxious Freshman and novice composer, I felt unable to fashion this idea into a full piece. I wrote in a melodramatic fashion on the sketch, “The process of writing this is like a dense mist over the mind… like I’m trying to make out what’s in front of me through fog, with bad eyes.” When I received this commission from New Downbeat, I thought it a good chance to revisit this sketch and give my younger self the gift of finishing it. As I played through it, I found it saturated with some of my early and formative influences– primarily the piano works of Debussy and Ravel. I tried to retain a similar character, staying true to the intentions of my younger self. That is the first movement. The second movement, “Renewal,” takes up some of the materials of the first movement, fragmented and manipulated, and puts it into the context of my voice in the present day: centered on rhythmic play, open and jazz-inspired harmonies, spontaneity and freedom. This piece is a dialogue with myself, its purpose being an integration of past and present in a personal context; a reminder that as we pass through our different iterations, the essence of who we are is unchanging.  I. Reminiscence (ca. 3.5’)II. Renewal (ca. 2.5’)