ALLEN, Texas — The city of Allen will host a remembrance event on Monday, May 6, one year after the tragic mass shooting at the Allen Premium Outlets. And the Allen Philharmonic Orchestra will perform a special piece in honor of the victims.
"To me music is a way of holding space for feeling whatever you need to feel," said Lane Harder, senior lecturer and co-chair of Music Theory and Composition at Southern Methodist University’s Meadows School of the Arts.
Harder, with the help of orchestra conductor Ryan Ross, thought up the idea to create a piece of music for the one year remembrance event.
Harder, like most all of North Texas, sat by their television screens watching the news coverage of the tragic event. And like many, Harder was in shock that something so terrible was happening so close to where he lives.
"It's a very a natural reaction to say, what can I do? How can I help?" Harder said.
Harder describes the piece as "slow for reverence, bright for the victims, and not dark." It is appropriately named "In Lumine," which means "In Light." The piece, he says, is not about the tragic event or their passing, but rather, about how the victims lived.
"I think [the music] is incredibly powerful and poignant and beautiful. My job is to bring that music to life as the conductor," Ross said.
Harder tells WFAA the 11-minute piece features 8 solos, which represent the eight lives that were lost.
"Lane was very intentional about how he wanted to represent the lives of the victims," Ross said.
The remembrance event will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, May 6, at Credit Union of Texas Event Center.