"A Child's Embrace" was written to commemorate the birth of the composer's first child, Katherine Anne Young, who was born on January 18th, 2000. It has been scored in such a way as to permit performances by bands with less than complete instrumentation. (The oboe and bassoon parts may be omitted if players are not available, and the vibraphone part may be substituted by bells with rubber mallets.) It was commissioned by the Traverse City East Junior High School Band.