In “Symphonia,” layers of sound blend with melodic lines and rhythmic patterns to form a vibrant, varied, and dynamic 12-minute orchestral work.

Commissioned by the New Albany Symphony Orchestra with the generous support of the Johnstone Fund, Concerto for Percussion was written for soloist Cameron Leach. The work is in four movements and lasts approximately 30 min. The first features the soloist on a “classical drumset” and marimba, the second on metallic instruments, the third on marimba and xylophone, and the fourth on drumset and marimba again. The work’s premiere on March 21, 2021, was the first in-person event of my music since the COVID-19 pandemic and serves as a marker in my memory for a return to the concert hall after a lengthy period of quarantine.

Full Instrumentation:

2. (both double piccolo) 2. (second doubles English Horn) 2. (second doubles bass clarinet) 2. bassoons (second doubles contrabassoon), 2.2.1 (bass trombone), timp. 2 percussion (Player 1: 4 tom toms, snare drum, 2 bongos, tambourine, 1 wood block, suspended cymbal; Player 2: snare drum, large tam-tam, medium tam-tam, suspended cymbal, ratchet, mark tree, tambourine, maracas), solo percussion (bass drum, kick bass drum, 5 tom-toms, 2 bongos, snare drum, 5 wood/temple blocks, marimba, vibraphone, xylophone, crotales, glockenspiel), strings

 

I wrote Filtered Light on a commission from Music in the American Wild, which set out to celebrate the centenary of the National Parks Service by commissioning several composers to write for flute, clarinet, horn, percussion, violin, viola, and cello and then perform these commissioned works outdoors in national parks around the U.S.

When beginning the process of writing this piece, I set the intention of meditating on nature and then allowing these meditations to inform my writing. As a resident of NYC at the time, I reflected particularly on how nature intersects with the city. Parks in NYC are for me incredibly important. I imagine these parks as providing much-needed oxygen to city dwellers, and they connect us to the softer parts of our humanity within the harder concrete edges that greet us as sidewalks, skyscrapers, and zooming traffic. Sometimes, standing in Central Park, I look out at the city and am astounded at how (manmade) nature gives way over one sharp line to streets and high-rises.

The differents musics in this piece reflect this dichotomy. The opening texture is like sunlight dancing on leaves, while the more aggressive, rhythmic music is an urban dance.