to the boy from Venus, with love by JaRon Brown

In honor and dedicated to their 100th season, “to the boy from Venus, with love,” was commissioned for the University of South Carolina School of Music Freeman Concert Series 2024-2025. Named after philanthropist Cornelia Freeman, this Sunday concert series is renowned for its collaboration with “music faculty in fresh and vibrant chamber music programs that pair canonic masterpieces alongside brand new musical works.” These concerts are designated and designed to help raise scholarship money for gifted music students respectfully. Premiered by the prestigiously multi awarded PASIC performers, the University of South Carolina percussion ensemble (Dr. Scott Herring) premiered this work for the Sunday Freeman concert in February of 2025, with an early release for their most recent IPEC PASIC performance in Indiana in the month of November 2024.

The piece is an honest exploration of the depths of queer love and all of its complexities for the LGBTQIA+ community. I wanted to create a work that truly examines these relationships with patience and sweetly heartfelt. I personally feel like most of us from this community never have the opportunity to experience any aspect of this addendum until we’ve aged and come to grasps with ourselves in a raw an authentic way. This piece propels the daydream and fantasy of being in all of those first time feels of exploring any aspect of a love interest of kindred such. Dearly, “to the boy from Venus, with love” is a coming of age musical work filled to the brim with overwhelming passion and gratitude for the experience and pursuit of an unyielding and mutual connection.

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Upon purchase, you will receive a secure 24-hour link to the digital performance materials including:

1. Full Score and Parts — PDF format