I composed this work at the request of my dear friend William Harvey: violinist and founder of Cultures in Harmony. Since 2005, this organization has been at the forefront of cultural diplomacy, forging understanding by connecting American musicians with local communities across the world through collaborative performance and creation.

In classical music, a passacaglia is a form built upon a ground, a bass line that remains constant while a world of variations unfolds above it. To celebrate their tenth anniversary in 2015, Cultures in Harmony traveled to former project sites around the globe, using this specific musical form as a metaphor for our shared humanity.

The symbolism is profound: just as the variations of a passacaglia shift in character, rhythm, and color while anchored to the same bedrock, the people of the world embody a vast array of cultural differences while sharing a common ground of universal values and aspirations. In a world often fractured by misunderstanding, this work serves as a reminder that we are all variations on a single theme: the fundamental desire to live in peace and mutual respect.