I was awarded a sabbatical from Winthrop University for the spring semester of 2020. For my friends who are not in academia, this means that I am relieved of teaching and administrative duties so I can focus on composing music (aka scholarship and creative activity). I have two projects planned, a new piece for choir and orchestra, and another for piano, violin, and cello (referred to as piano trio by classical musicians). The text for the choir and orchestra piece is from the Libre Vermell de Montserrat, a collection of late 14th century Latin text music written by anonymous monks for pilgrims to sing prior to ascending the mountain at first light. Montserrat is located inland from Barcelona, Spain, near Navarcles. It has long been a destination for pilgrims who wish to pay respects to the “black virgin”, a stature of Mary that was allegedly found on the mountain and is on display at the monastery that was built atop Montserrat almost one thousand years ago. I am using two of the texts from the Libre Vermell de Montserrat, O Virgo Spledins and Stella Splendins. I may incorporate some musical references to the original songs but plan to set the text in my own musical language. The piano trio will be my third and will focus on a fusion of post-minimalism and jazz-fusion. I will post updates as things proceed.