"PIANO TRIO NO.1"

"In Search of Peace"

Year: 2021
Duration: Approx. 13’30”
Instrumentation: Violin, Violincello & Piano OR Flute, Violoncello & Piano
Commissioned for the Melbourne Chamber Players by consortium with the support of Creative Partnerships Australia’s Match Lab and the Australian Cultural Fund

PERFORMANCES

*WORLD PREMIERE: Dec 2021 by the Melbourne Chamber Players at Tempo Rubato Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
*WORLD PREMIERE (Arr. for Fl/Vc/Pno) Nov 2023 by CreArtMusic  at The William Vale, Brooklyn, New York, USA.
*NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE: September 2024 by Spectrum Chamber Music Society, Fort Worth, Texas, USA.

RECORDING

*STUDIO RECORDING: September 2022 with the Melbourne Chamber Players at ABC Studios Southbank, VIC, Australia.

WORLD PREMIERE

The commissioning and world premiere of String Quartet #2: “Fede” at Atlantic Music Festival was made possible by the 2019 Commissioning Campaign. Thank you to all those who supported the campaign.

Located here is the campaign video and concert program of the premiere. The debrief video will be coming shortly!

ATLANTIC MUSIC FESTIVAL

TUTTI FESTIVAL

I was very grateful to be invited and to attend Tutti Festival in early March 2020, just before Covid-19 hit. The festival marked my Mid-West debut and my first time working with New York based string quartet ETHEL. The festival took place over 4 days in Granville, Ohio. (Thank you Ching-chu Hu!)

Recording coming soon.

TUTTI FESTIVALETHEL WEBSITE

MIDI PREVIEW COMING SOON

PROGRAM NOTES

‘Affine,’ taken from the Italian meaning ‘Kindred’ or ‘Connected With’, from the word ‘affinity’. This work is an exploration of the connection we share to others, particularly in their absence, be it geographical, temporal, or even trans-dimensional (i.e., those who have passed). I was inspired to write this following a reunion with family and friends after a long time away, and the profound sensation that when it came time to leave them again, they were still with me, that I carry them with me, that we are connected.  Even then, when the pandemic began and we became separated indefinitely, that connection remained and was a source of light and strength, even if at times it became one of sorrow as well.

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PROGRAM NOTES

It brought me joy and hope, each day, sitting in my little East Harlem apartment creating this piece of music for friends back home despite the rapid, ever changing realities and circumstances of the time. I strive for authenticity in what I write, where the music speaks for itself, and this often means the music reflects the state of mind of the composer. I think in this case, you’ll hear a composer’s search for the good.

There is not an explicit program to the work and so I encourage listeners and performers, above all else, to experience it without ears prejudiced by this note, or the title and to take their own meaning. For me, the rhetorical argument that inspired this work is some abstract struggle between chaos and clarity, trying to find peace and calm among the many weights, pressures and provocations of life that constantly attempt to subvert any sense of our psychological, emotional or spiritual focus, composure and solace. The idea for the work began several years prior to writing the trio with a simple progression of chords that brought me great comfort. The progression returns through the work, always acting as an anchor trying to bring the music back to earth and establish some sense stillness and calm. While it is uplifting and hopeful, it is also searching and questioning, ultimately conceding that in some ways, the search will always be ongoing.