Five Drawings (2023)
Sounding Ground Composer Residency
The SOUNDING GROUND composer residency program provides commissioning, development, and production support for six Minnesota composers in the early stages of their careers. SOUNDING GROUND awardees work closely with Zeitgeist over a 10-month period on the development and production of a significant new work created for Zeitgeist.
Program Notes
Five Drawings is inspired by a series of five pastel drawings I drew, deliberately limiting myself to four colors and three shapes. Five Drawings is the culmination of a process that started with the drawings, then composing music for instruments that I am less acquainted with, proceeding to a number of readings, and ultimately to rehearsals and performances. Just as the drawings reconfigure simple elements into five related images, I have used the musical ideas (melodies, colors/timbres, articulations, and unexpected instrumental combinations) to create three movements of related music.
I have scored this piece, not for four colors or three shapes, but for a limited number of instruments: bass clarinet, floor tom, glockenspiel, temple blocks, vibraphone, marimba, and piano. I found myself making dramatic sense from the palette of musical ideas.
I invite you to find the yellow in my work.
I have scored this piece, not for four colors or three shapes, but for a limited number of instruments: bass clarinet, floor tom, glockenspiel, temple blocks, vibraphone, marimba, and piano. I found myself making dramatic sense from the palette of musical ideas.
I invite you to find the yellow in my work.