
What is 'To Light'?
'To Light' is a piece of music I started working on after seeing the new memorial open on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. At the time, I was writing music about historic & meaningful places (like Walden Pond) and I really wanted to write something for this new space. NYC was my 'home city' growing up and my parents and extended family are all from there so it's a personal project, too.
Also, we are so inundated with tragic imagery and conflicting associations from 9/11 and I definitely didn't want to add to that. But I think the memorial is different. It represents a new perspective, so I wanted to make something that resonates with that and to look ahead, not back.'To Light' will serve to provide this frame of reference in many ways.
The music and text are conceptual and mirror the architectural concept. Both are angular, symmetrical and spacious. It's for piano & voice but I'd love to have it orchestrated one day for a larger ensemble of singers & musicians. For now, the minimal arrangement here will be used specifically for the video.
It's a piece about learning, remembering and holding a space to connect with the architecture of the memorial and the meaning of 9/11 moving forward. It's a piece about bringing things 'to light' and bringing 'light' to things. It's a piece to match the 9/11 WTC 'Tribute in Light'.
I hope this project helps to bring understanding and appreciation to everyone, especially those who are unable to visit.
By contributing, you make it possible to bring this project to form and completion. Please feel free to get in touch by email with questions or comments.

Who are we?

Carolyn Downie studied at Berklee College of Music, New England Conservatory and CalArts. With a degree in music composition as well as certificates in sound therapy and integrative mental health. She is a composer/pianist & music teacher but most of all considers herself a lifelong learner. She makes a wide variety of music projects from writing fun music for kids to serious pieces for older learners & listeners. She founded Ivy Leaf Studios as an extension of her teaching studio in 2012 to represent new collaborative work and the merging of music + education for growth at all ages.
More at carolyndowniemusic.com

Anne Hu is a filmmaker and video editor based in New York, New York. Her commercial work includes trailers for Rush and Mandela: A Long Walk to Freedom, and AMC’s Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, and Mad Men. Her animated short film, Balloon, was in the Top 16 New York City Campus MovieFest Northern Regional Grand Finale. Her latest film, Emma, was accepted into the Queens World Film Festival and screened numerous times in New York City. She is an active member of NYC filmmaker’s collective, The Filmshop, and she is currently in post-production for her next film, Into the Woods.
More at annehu.com
Project in Motion:
Project Mockup. (slideshow video for demo only)'If this was a scar, and the fabric of the city was scarred, I felt it should be mended back to the life of the city, not erased; not celebrated as a scar but allowed to heal back. The waterfalls themselves mark the passage of time, endlessly flowing into the earth. The moving water is meant to be cleansing and its sound soothing. The recessed pools are designed to allow the sky and sun to shine about. You walk up to the edge of these voids, you see these voids that are tangible emptiness. It's not an emptiness that's devoid of meaning. It's an emptiness that's full of meaning. It's about the persistence of this absence in so many ways, absence of these people, absence of the towers that stood here.'
-Michael Arad, architect
How will the funds be used?
The funds will go directly to video production and music post-production services. Here are the details:Now that the music is more or less finished, I will collaborate with Anne Hu to make the new video to replace the slideshow demo over the next few months. The funds will cover the cost of shooting, editing and putting the whole process together.
I also need the music to be mixed and mastered which I can't do myself so I'll hand it over to Theo Mordey for this.
5% of all proceeds will go to Families of Freedom, a scholarship program for the children of 9/11.
Your donation to Fund Dreamer Inc. is tax deductible.
Where will the film go?
After everything is wrapped up and ready to go, this project will be given to the
9/11 Artist Registry. This is an online gallery of works made for 9/11 and will be available online. I may submit the project to film festivals also.
THANK YOU
Thank you for donating and helping to create a project to commemorate 9/11
and honor the 9/11 Memorial. We Remember.

