What if Love is the Thing – Steve Heitzeg

Composer: Steve Heitzeg Instrumentation: Jazz Ensemble and Vocalist Duration: Approx. 4 minutes Date Written: 2023 Premiered by: Mairs Concert Hall. Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center Macalester College, Saint Paul, MN 4/28/2024 Commissioned by: Macalester College Music Department for MacJazz Additional Information: While my wife Gwen and I were talking with Joan Griffith (director of MacJazz) after the MacJazz concert this past December (our daughter Zadie plays alto sax in the ensemble), Joan asked me to compose a piece for MacJazz. I was thrilled and honored to compose a piece for this talented group of musicians and their renowned jazz guitarist/conductor. Commissioned by the Macalester College Music Department for MacJazz and dedicated to the students of Macalester College and the global spirit of justice, here are a few notes about What if Love is the Thing for jazz ensemble and vocalist. The piece opens with a light street groove, then moves toward the ballad-like chorus in which th