This is my fourth album of Antarctic music and third collaboration with Michael Stibor.  It continues an interest in and affection for Antarctica that began with my first visit in 1993 as a tourist and continued through four more trips to the Antarctic Peninsula, the Ross Sea area and along the coast of Western Antarctica. The music on this album is based on various themes related to the continent that are more fully described in the album notes that follow. I am indebted to the compositional, arrangement and keyboard skills of my musical collaborator, Michael Stibor – thank you, Mike.

With this album, we continue to explore Antarctica through music.  More than our previous offerings, I feel that this album is about experience, the feeling of being there for those who have never been, and the memories of being there for those who long to go back.  It is intended to sound both joyous and contemplative.  And it is intended to reflect Valmar’s passion for Antarctica and our mutual passion for music.  It was named A Rose for Antarctica because that’s exactly what this album represents: a tribute, an ode, a rose for this magical continent.