Germination refers to the process by which an organism grows from a seed. This concept inspired me to compose a piece in which I use the orchestra to replicate the process of a seed's germination. After composing and revising the piece for a couple of months, however, my original idea had vanished and was replaced by new ideas. Most of the music was composed during the fall of 2019 when I noticed that the trees in Boston started to turn yellow. This reminded me that germination is a process, the significance of which is to observe a seedling grow into a plant. Just like my music, the texture and harmony function as the branches and leaves of the plant. Therefore, I kept the original title for this piece, Germination.

(Wenbin Lyu, December 11, 2019)

2022 - The American Prize; 2nd place (orchestral composition division); Danbury, CT

2021 - Morton Gould Young Composer Awards; winner; The ASCAP Foundation; New York, NY

2021 - BMIMF Composition Competition; special prize; Busan Maru International Music Festival; Busan, Korea

2021 - CCM Orchestral Composition Competition; winner; Cincinnati College-Conservatory; Cincinnati, OH

March 29, 2025; San Mateo Performing Arts Center; San Mateo, CA; Golden State Youth Orchestra & Yun Song Tay, conductor

July 26, 2022 (premiere); Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music; Civic Auditorium; Santa Cruz, CA; Cabrillo Festival Orchestra & Barbara Dragan/Ryan Tani, conductor

April 5, 2021; (reading) Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music; Cincinnati, OH; CCM Philharmonia & Shimon Ohi, conductor

February 1, 2021; (reading) Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music; Cincinnati, OH; CCM Philharmonia & Kin Szeto, conductor