October 12th, 2022 marked the 150th birthday of English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. From my earliest musical experiences, I remember being fascinated by Vaughan Williams' sound and his music has been a central line of my musical life ever since. This article begins a year-long journey into the incredible world of this amazing composer.

Song of Myself is both an exultation of the individual as well as a collecting of all people, no matter who you are, where you came from, what you believe, or anything else. We are of one identity. We are one people. We are each unique yet also the same. Like leaves of grass, each one is different yet creates a unified whole. This was Walt's song, a vision that may not yet have been fulfilled but certainly is not forgotten.

The difference in the trajectory and focus of my career after working with Larry was so profound that I cannot imagine a world in which I missed the opportunity to learn from this incredible human being. Yet Larry's greatest legacy will be teaching us all how to be better human beings.