I went through and read the interviews you mentioned again, and I listened to some of the songs mentioned in it. This one has to be by far one of my favorites. It has an upbeat feeling, mixed in with a little bit of melancholy. That's a blend I've only ever heard done well in a lot of Steve Jablonsky's work. Simply beautiful! I'm in envy of your music composition skills.
If you still remember, could you tell me what vsts/sample libraries you used? Especially for the strings. Those strings gave me chills!