My wife and I have three children, so we have had a bit of practice with names. We went through hundreds of possible names for our kids, each representing some kind of strength or history or character trait, each linked to a different hope or tradition. There were bible names, the names of kings and queens, famous explorers, hippie names – at one time I voted to name my kids Mountain, Wheat and Leaf… We also looked at old Puritan names, like Charity, or Submit, or Industry, and of course in this category we considered the name of Cotton Mather’s brother, Increase. We really liked it – it’s full of determination and optimism. It’s what you wish for as a future, for a child, for a community, or, for that matter, for a new performing ensemble. We ended up not using it for one of our children, but I still think it’s a great name.
increase was written for, and premiered by, Alarm Will Sound — Alan Pierson, conductor.
