Sirius (Σείριος) was a Greek street dog, playful and kind. Sirius wandered the Athens streets until he was adopted by a lonely, gifted young boy. The two become inseparable. Sirius, whose name means bright and shining, loved running along the beaches of the Aegean in the summer with his boy. Sirius sadly passed away unexpectedly while his boy was away at work and is now a star shining in the sky. He glows especially brightly during the long, hot Greek summer.

Composer/pianist Samuel H. Gray heard this story from the boy, who is now a young man. Sirius and the sombre major-minor Sirius theme came to Samuel in a dream one night. He woke up and wrote the melody down. The other pieces in the suite are fully spontaneously composed, in honour of Sirius' beautiful, playful nature. More pieces and arrangements of the themes may follow.

Sirius 1

I write classical/post-classical chamber music and play the piano. I also make lo-fi indie rock ('baroque chamber pop') under the name Sam Gray Singing. 
I grew up in New Zealand, where most of my family still lives. I lived in Norway for a decade and am now based in Austria. 
Pencil portrait by Sampo Marjomaa.
www.samuelgray.net

Sirius 1

Samuel Gray