“Moments avant de partir” is a four-movement orchestral work composed by Don Robertson in 1963 while stationed aboard the U.S. naval vessel USS Valley Forge, docked in Long Beach, California. He had rented an apartment on Gaviota Avenue along with several other sailors, and there he composed, attracting the interest of a young man who contacted the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra. A read-through of the music was arranged and the first movement was performed by the orchestra during a rehearsal.