Originally composed in 2019 as a solo piano piece, “A Matter of Time: Perseverancia” stands as a triumphant statement of resilience and physical recovery for Santa Cruz-based artist, producer, and engineer Shelby Lock. After contracting a virus that led to a five-year battle with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.)—a severe neuroimmune condition that left her bedridden for up to 18 hours a day—Lock gradually pieced the song together during brief moments at the instrument. Reimagined in 2026 for piano and string orchestra, the piece serves as a celebration of regaining her life, while its Spanish subtitle, Perseverancia, expands to honor the Venezuelan people rebuilding after severe regional earthquakes.
Collaborating with orchestrator Joe Jaxson (composer-in-residence with the Richmond Symphony) and conductors Raniero Palm and Jesús David Medina, Lock weaves an intimate yet sweeping classical arrangement. Lock’s piano tracking—captured on her vintage Yamaha C7 grand using a ten-microphone immersive array at her own Silver Moon Sound studio—anchors the composition with warm, expressive clarity. The Venezuela Strings Recording Ensemble recorded their parts at The Music Embassy in San Cristóbal, Venezuela, creating an expansive, emotional dynamic that seamlessly joins across continents.
Engineering, mixing, and mastering the track herself, Lock utilizes her dual background as a conservatory-trained pianist and seasoned audio engineer to balance delicate solo passages against rich, stirring orchestral swells. Premiered in its early form at the Kennedy Center, the final production turns years of personal hardship into an uplifting, cinematic testament to hope and human endurance.
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