Path to Paradise was written for and performed by the Lakeview Middle School 8th Grade Band.

Conducted by Anthony Hasek

Performed 5/21/2024 @ Park Hill South High School

This piece was inspired by the rise of artificial intelligence in the realm of creative media. Machines learn from examples and from trial and error, just like humans do, but the speed at which they learn is what separates us. This piece is meant to capture a computer’s process of learning how to compose a Bach-style chorale, beginning by hearing a brief chorale and then leading into the computer’s first creation. Gradually, the music turns from nonsense, to ordered nonsense, to melodies and harmonies, and finally to true music! Unfortunately, writing true music is too much for the computer now, and the piece ends with the computer violently crashing! This piece wound up being very prophetic to the AI Music we see nowadays. I hope my next piece about technology does not predict any other bad things!

This piece is not explicitly about a dog. It is more about the power and energy the dog brings with his smile. His smile has many strong powers, but great
power comes with great responsibility. Happiest Dog is in three main sections, a rapid-fire theme and variations featuring an omnipresent melodic line, a dramatic slow section headlined by a viola solo, and a return to the
opening with a slow build to the conclusion. This piece was written while studying with Dr. Chen Yi and Dr. Zhou Long. This piece was read by the UMKC Symphony Orchestra in 2025.