The Beauty Way 8:42
Instrumentation: soprano, tenor and bass viols
Martha McGaughey, Jeanne Dorche, Carlene Stober; soprano, tenor and bass viols
Commissioned by Empire Viols
Enchanted by my summer at the Wurlitzer Foundation in New Mexico, I returned to New York City. Walking on the streets of Harlem one noisy, chaotic day, I remembered the 360 degree beauty of my walks off the power grid on Native land. The Beauty Way is a Navajo concept describing those times when we are in harmony with all that is.
Finding Accord 7:36
Instrumentation: violin, cello, piano, ankle bell, pencil
Amy Kimball, violin; Arthur Cook, cello; Marcia Eckert, piano
Commissioned by Alaria
I was fascinated by relationships, and how people (and also chamber groups), stay together despite their differences. This three-way conversation goes in and out of agreement in a tete-a-tete of musical opposites.
Duet After Winter 8:59
Instrumentation: 2 violins
Amy Kimball and Lynn Bechtold, violin
I was on the “outs” with my boyfriend and thought it was over when he emailed from Japan and told me he was “ok”. It was March 11, 2011, about a half an hour after the earthquake. Duet After Winter is that pull at my heartstrings.
Incidental Ducklings 6:42
Instrumentation: violin, cello, piano
Amy Kimball, violin; Arthur Cook, cello; Marcia Eckert, piano
“If the violin did not imitate the walk and talk of a duck, I don’t know what did – these are marvelous, sensitive pieces that rival anything Stravinsky ever did.” – Mark Greenfest, Indie Reviewer
I. Duck Etiquette :50
II. Ducks in Summer 3:33
III. Duckling Dance 2:14
Dialogues with the Distant Mountains 8:19
Instrumentation: alto sax, piano
Javier Oviedo, alto sax; Marcia Eckert, piano
Commissioned by Atlanta Music Teachers’ Association
I. Andante 2:51
II. Moderato 3:41
III. Allegro Moderato 1:40
Dialogues with the Distant Mountains is a coming of age tale. To me, it’s a hero’s journey, one that we all are challenged to take at some point. I felt the need to express it in order to overcome difficulties and move forward.
Visions 5:58
Instrumentation: piano
Elizabeth Wolff, piano
Commissioned by Access to Music
The worst thing about being in residency at the Wurlitzer Foundation was the thought of leaving. I wrote these pieces to be able to envelope myself in the feeling of being there. They describe the first night there, the waning of summer, and a visit to Georgia O’Keeffe’s home in Abique.
I. …In the dead of night I awoke 2:01
and went to the window – it was
filled with stars.
II. From my window I look out 1:40
on a field aflutter with butterflies.
The season wanes as the day,
we as ephemeral as they.
III. The path to her studio was laid with stones, 2:14
and there we walked years later, in her footsteps.
The Doppelganger 8:30
Instrumentation: trombone
Haim Avitsur, trombone
More than ever I feel the need to allow 21st century life to mingle with my classical roots. I wanted to write something with a groove that had the profundity of Schubert, and to allow the listener to move seamlessly between our everyday waking reality and a deep inner world.
And So It Begins 16:25
Instrumentation: 2 violins, viola, cello, double bass, tenor sax
Javier Oviedo, tenor sax; Amy Kimball, Lynn Bechtold, violin; Entela Barci, viola; Garo Yellin, cello; Frank Wagner, double bass
Commissioned by Classical Saxophone Project
I. Processional 3:51
II. Andante 4:38
III. Moderato a la Bossa 7:48
I wrote And So It Begins while grieving my father. The process was more intuitive than ever, and I was amazed when the tune he used to whistle to call us as kids (a descending minor 3rd), dropped into the sax line at the end of the 2nd movement, now as a way of saying “goodbye”.