Look at what got us here – to a New York street address and a debut record, a dream accomplished and a direction forged. You can look back pragmatically at the years of technical training and judicious study, a lifetime of piano lessons and countless composition courses, to perfect a skill set. Or you can take the heady road, reminiscing on the Maslowian milestones throughout our short lives that made us who we are today. No creative accomplishment post-Great Recession is earned without a certain passion that flirts with maniacal dedication. But you could tell that from listening to From This Point Forward. You’re right there in the middle of the classical piano quintet. You can hear the sounds ricochet off each headphone in a stereo swirl of struggle, juxtaposition, and resolve. Each piece on From This Point Forward exudes empathy and accessibility, an achievement itself in expanding the reach and scope of contemporary classical music. Its melodies, of acrobatic piano lines and strings searching for new means of expression through their old wooden frames, invite you to sing along in a way that neither requests nor warrants verbal affirmation. The instrumental characters of opening track “In So Many Words” introduce themselves with firm grips, from the low bite of staccato strings to the high crest of lyrical piano. Conversely, there’s the romance and intellect that proliferate through “Waltz & Departure,” channeling the physical movements of the ballet company K/M-D/M for which the piece was originally composed. There are the quiet moments of introspection in the ballad-like “In A Moment;” the circular, tolling chords create a somber lament, but one that finds solace in its transience. The towering title track “From This Point Forward” represents the culmination of these years and memories. Its five movements encapsulate our journeys from place to place and the subsequent emotional trajectories that geotag everything along the way. The quick tempo of the opening movement surges like power-walking New Yorkers. Its rhythms, kept by the percussive strings scraping against each other in a pizzicato riot, revel in defiance. Its resilience is absolute. As we listen, the memories-turned-melodies fill us with pride. Our voices have been heard and our hearts reaffirmed. But we are not stagnant. We do not sit still. And so we embrace the movements that carry us from this point forward. – Hilary Saunders