The inspiration for these piano preludes began with an idea to compose a piece about Garrett Chapel, a beautiful stone chapel tucked in amongst the trees on the shore of Keuka Lake in Western New York. Having visited the chapel during several summer trips, I was struck by the reverent building and its incredibly peaceful surroundings and decided to write a "Hymn to Garrett Chapel." I wasn't sure what instrumentation I wanted to use, but most combinations I came up with seemed too heavy for such a delicate scene. Ultimately, I decided on solo piano, and since my wife, Ashley is a pianist, we decided it would be fun to collaborate on the piece. I would come up with some ideas and Ashley would make it more pianistic, while also bringing her own creative ideas to the piece. During this process, she suggested that perhaps we could write a set of preludes. I wanted each prelude to reference a hymn tune that tied into the location in some way. This idea is most subtle in "Hymn to Garrett Chapel." As I was improvising ideas and melodies for the piece, I played a motive that reminded me of the hymn, "Shall We Gather at the River." This seemed like an apt reference because of Garrett Chapel's site on the water, so you'll hear references to that hymn throughout. The next place that inspired a prelude was Rockingham Meeting House in Vermont, where we were married. In "Rockingham Meeting House," Ashley suggested we reference the wonderful Shaker tune, "Simple Gifts." The Meeting House, nestled atop a hill in southern Vermont feels distinctly American, simple, and timeless. For the final prelude, "Bells in the Piazza," we decided to write about Parrocchia San Martino, a two-toned salmon- and gold-colored church in Ispra, Italy, which we visited in 2018. The church is tucked into the middle of the piazza in this old Italian town on the coast of Lago Maggiore. As you hear the church bells ringing across the piazza each day, it's hard not to marvel at the beauty of the place and its surroundings. So, I thought using the hymn, "For the Beauty of the Earth" in this prelude would be fitting.