This composition came out of my participation in the 2021 Merriman-Ross Family Young Composer’s Institute. This was a 15-week long series of workshops run by the Seattle Symphony Orchestra and, because of the COVID pandemic, conducted remotely over Zoom.
Writing this piece was exciting for me because it was my first time writing for this specific group of instruments. I constructed my composition from a four-note motif that you will hear in its simplest form in the opening Horn solo. From there I explored the pitch collections’ melodic, contrapuntal, and harmonic capabilities. I took inspiration from the individual timbres of each instrument and I experimented with various combinations of instruments. For example, you will hear the flute and clarinet paired together near the beginning. But later on, I contrast that blend with at more disjunct combination of Flute and Horn. My overall goal when writing was to create a seemingly fragmented form, with contrasts in colour and mood, but with a certain consistency established by means of my use of the motif as a connecting thread. My intent was that on a first listen the extent to which the material is rooted in the opening four notes would only be experienced on a sub-conscious level. I hoped it would add to the meaning of the work but not make the piece predictable.
