On the morning of February 25, 2026, between 8:05 and 8:15 a.m., hours before the sold-out world premiere of his new work at Merit School of Music's Gottlieb Hall, composer JaRon Brown sat down with WVON Radio host Rufus Williams in Chicago to talk about "and this too, shall pass," a piece commissioned by Nova Linea Musica for the GRAMMY Award-winning Third Coast Percussion.

The commission is part of NLM's mission to resource new-music creation and close the distance between composers, performers, and listeners. That evening, Brown would not only hear his work performed for the first time, he would speak directly to the audience during the pre-concert discussion and join them at the post-concert reception. The following day, Third Coast Percussion returned to Gottlieb Hall to record the work in a studio session produced by Nova Linea Musica.

What follows is the conversation from that morning.

On his journey into composing classical music:

"My journey with writing and classical music has been pretty interesting. I feel like there's not a lot of representation for Black artists or Black composers. So a lot of my musical inspiration has been rooted in my Blackness, and a lot of that just bloomed overnight. It has been a journey to say the least."

On his creative process:

"A lot of my pieces, I normally start with the title. I have some inspiration, so I'll just start with a title of a work that I have or something that I'm inspired by. And then I just kind of noodle. I use music software to start with an idea. Then from there it fleshes out and becomes a piece. It can be kind of grueling sometimes, but when I get to the end result, it is all worth it."

On his relationship with Third Coast Percussion:

"Third Coast and I, we met when I was back at USC in South Carolina, in Columbia. That's where I first graduated from. I met them there, and then they premiered one of my pieces two years later, 'Gutterflies.' We've been staying in contact since then. A Nova Linea Musica commission came up, and they asked if I'd be interested, and this is how we came to this point where they're premiering my piece, 'and this too, shall pass.' It's wild how you meet people, and they kind of follow you along your journey, and it's been incredible to get to this point with them."

On the meaning behind "and this too, shall pass":

"The piece is a sort of love letter to my great-uncle, who was most recently diagnosed with dementia. My family and I have been rallying around him, trying to make sure that he is very comfortable. This piece talks about the complexities of memory and how everything we experience seems to always be fleeting or leaving us regardless of whatever ailments we may have. Through it all, it's really joyous. There is some triumph, but there is a lot of uncertainty with this work. It's really pretty groovy. Hopefully you'll leave with some sort of ear worm that'll follow you. And if not, then that's kind of the point too. It's really about memory."

"and this too, shall pass" was first broadcast on WFMT on February 23, 2026, two days before its sold-out live world premiere on February 25, 2026 at Merit School of Music, presented by Nova Linea Musica as part of the concert "The Drum Also Sings." The work was recorded by Third Coast Percussion the following day in a studio session produced by Nova Linea Musica at Gottlieb Hall.

JaRon Brown is a composer whose work bridges composition, performance, and interdisciplinary storytelling. He studied at the University of South Carolina and is rapidly gaining recognition as one of the most compelling young voices in contemporary classical music.

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