For twenty years Wernick has concentrated on the theater, composing music for the over 100 productions for which he has worked. His scores for The Shakespeare Company in Washington, D.C., earned him a Helen Hayes Award nomination. Composing concert works is his other passion, of which Always is a fine example. A seven-minute work for soprano and small ensemble, Always is based on two poems of Stephen Berg: I. Like Wildfire, II. Always. This piece was commissioned and premiered by Network for New Music with Martha Elliott, soprano.