...the quest for peace...

. . .the quest for peace. . . is a tribute to the politician Adlai E. Stevenson (1900-1965), a former Governor of Illinois, after whom the commissioning school is named. Stevenson spent much of his working life striving for peace during the ominous and troubled years of the Cold War. The title is taken from a quote of his which is engraved on a bronze bust in Princeton University, which reads, "And now we shall have to address ourselves to the unending tasks of greatness. For the quest for peace and security is not a day's or a decade's work. For us it may be everlasting." The piece opens in majestic mood, symbolizing the nobility of the man. A troubled central section follows which alludes to the military build-up between the USA and the USSR and this ends in an aleatoric section which describes the power-play between the two nations in the early 1960s. The noble opening returns, demonstrating the strength of character with which Stevenson dealt with the crisis.