THE KOI (2023)
The Koi is composed for violin and piano, allowing the melodic material to flow seamlessly between the two instruments, much like koi fish gliding around one another in a tranquil pond. The violin moves in a graceful triple meter while the piano adopts a lilting, dance-like duple. At times, their rhythms and melodic contours gently influence one another, mirroring the subtle interplay of fish as they shift and respond in shared motion.
DEW (2023)
Dew is a musical reflection of early morning stillness—a moment when the world feels untouched, the air is crisp, and golden light begins to spill over the horizon. Gently unfolding like the first breath of day, the piece was commissioned by the ArgUs 3 Trio of Argentina and is scored for marimba, clarinet, and violin. Through its delicate textures and lyrical interplay, Dew seeks to capture the quiet beauty and fleeting serenity of dawn.
SOMEWHERE I HAVE NEVER TRAVELLED (2023)
E. E. Cummings (1894-1962) is known for his poetry along with other playwrights, and books. His avant garde syntactic style of poetry creates new meanings for the text but appeals to the reader through traditional themes such as love, loss, and nature.
Somewhere I Have Never Travelled, Glady Beyond is one of Cummings poems. It speaks of a lover's features that transcend physical boundaries and encapsulates the speaker in mystified awe. The expansive challenge of expressing emotions into words is reflected in the range of the soprano.
Abschied (2023)
The poet, May Ayim a.k.a May Opitz, was a Afro-German Poet who grew up in post-Holocaust German society. This came with the racist everyday German view of black people, even from her adoptive parents with racist views about the validity of Black-German citizens. Ayim’s additional struggles with depression, multiple sclerosis eventually led to her suicide in 1996 at the age of 36. During her life, Ayim shaped the Black German movement to help other Black-German people identify their heritage and pride.
Abschied translates to “Departure”. The German poem is about someone who has lost a loved one and wonders what the last words should have been? The piece was written for my colleague, Karla Thomas, in memory her father. Abschied serves as a message of self-taught closure.