Under the Shadows, An Immigrant’s Journey, is a very personal orchestral overture written during a period of deep reflection. I have migrated four times in my life, and I am also part of the fourth continuous generation of immigrants in my family’s history. I thus felt a special desire to highlight the role immigrants have played in the history of our world. The road to a new land is a unique one for each person, with some choosing their journey with an adventurous spirit, yet others finding themselves forced to flee due to perilous circumstances. In any case, there is that magical moment we all feel when arriving at a new land. My piece is structured as a journey from darkness to light, from one single note to a full multilayered harmonic sound world that could be viewed as representing our plural contemporary society. An Immigrant´s Journey is also a love letter to the orchestra, a migrating entity itself and, in my case, a vessel that has taken me on a wild ride across five continents. I unleash the full array of beauty that can only be achieved by a world class ensemble such as our own, with a special focus on the idiomatic aspects of each instrument. —Carlos Izcaray