When the Ancia Saxophone Quartet and I began to think about a composition which would receive its premier at the 2015 World Saxophone Congress in Strasbourg, France, an image of Strasbourg and the Ill rivers which flow through it appeared in my head. That lead to thinking about the confluence of the Ill with the Rhine and the Rhine with the Mosel and I began to think about the idea of a work with confluences of rivers as its inspiration. These thoughts became the basis for my piece, Confluence. One of the major themes of my work over the past 40 years is the relationship of human beings and the natural world. Whenever I can, I use the opportunity to compose music which moves performers and listeners to think about themselves in relation to the Earth and their responsibilities as stewards of sustainability.

Great and ancient confluences have sustained humanity for over 600,000 years. Now, many of the great confluences are polluted to the point of endangering humanity and all the species of plants and animals which depend on the water they provide. China's Yangtze, India's Ganges and the United States’ and Mexico's Rio Grande are some examples of major, life sustaining rivers now polluted to the point of endangering every living thing that uses the water.

Confluence is a four movement work inspired by four confluences: USA: Columbia, Willamette and Snake; China: Yangtze, Jialing and Chongquig; Germany: Rhine, Mosel, Ill; USA: Mississippi, Ohio and Missouri.