(2005) for mandolin and ensemble (2 vln, cl, vcl, tbn, drum), 13’
instrumentation: mandolin solo, hand drum solo, two violin, clarinet, cello, trombone
commissioned by CrossSound AlaskaPulling in the Light (2006) for mandolin and mixed ensemble is music for a summer concert in Alaska. The piece invokes a ritual in which the late evening sun is pulled into the concert hall through sound. A trombone, situated outside the hall articulates phrases that are carried through the ensemble in a spatial line to the stage. I imagined the golden sun reflecting off the bell of the trombone and each note is like a beam of light radiating towards the stage. The light beam is pulled from low to high instruments, from the trombone to the cello to the clarinet, and culminating in a small ensemble of high instruments positioned on the stage with the mandolin at the center of this group. A large hand drum inscribes circles around the instruments in a gradually accelerating ritual.
Pulling in the Light (2005)
Performance materials include a PDF score