https://youtu.be/hc3M_9R6C8w
A composition for solo piano by Paul G. McCurdy
Developed through the 2025 Summer Composing Mentorship
Mentored by Soheil Shirangi
Piano:Qin Lan Zhang
Published by Zang Records in September 2026
Bridge is a solo piano work inspired by the hum that emerged from the Golden Gate Bridge during a 2020 retrofitting project connected to the installation of its Physical Suicide Deterrent System. Like the bridge’s resonance, which the composer could frequently hear from his former apartment in San Francisco, the music centers around the pitch A, heard prominently at both opening and close. Glissandi and tremolos evoke the bridge’s soaring cables and strong towers, while interwoven motifs suggest the movement of souls—individual voices meeting, joining, and forming communities on both sides of the bridge. Beyond its architectural portrait, Bridge reflects on the ways bridges, both literal and symbolic, connect people and hold them in shared space. The solo piano piece Bridge translates the structural and sonic qualities of the Golden Gate Bridge and its hum into piano textures—centered on the pitch A and enriched with glissandi, tremolos, and motivic interplay—to explore themes of connection, community, and resilience.
Paul G. McCurdy is a New York–based composer, collaborative pianist, and educator whose creative work encompasses solo keyboard pieces, chamber compositions, art songs, and choral music. His writing builds on classical foundations, blending backward-looking craft with forward-looking harmonic and expressive color.
In New York, Paul works as a collaborative pianist with the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus. He previously served as an adjunct professor at the University of San Francisco and worked extensively as a collaborative pianist across the Bay Area with ensembles including Volti, 21V, and Sacred & Profane. He holds degrees in anthropology and German from the University of Georgia, where he also pursued advanced musical studies.