for ensemble

written for Eco Ensemble

Stacey Pelinka, flutes; Kyle Bruckmann, oboe; Jeff Anderle, clarinets; Brendan Lai-Tong, trombone; Loren Mach, percussion; Allegra Chapman, piano; Hrabba Atladottir, violin; Julie Michael, viola; Helen Newby, cello; Richard Worn, bass; David Milnes, conductor

program note
This piece borrows its title from an installation work by Kosovar artist Petrit Halilaj that depicts a landscape of migratory birds and their ephemeral nests. In Halilaj’s work, the title RU represents Runik, the artist’s birthplace and the site of numerous Neolithic artifacts and musical instruments, serving as material representations of a distant cultural memory. His work describes ideas of presence and absence that are important to me and my music. The presence of a sonic body, as it manifests in various permutational musical spaces and situations, briefly inscribes its activity and resonance within the environment, before fading away. This composition is an extension of my research on sonic embodiment that preserves and renews these sociocultural memories.

performance history
02/03/2018 – Eco Ensemble at Hertz Hall, UC Berkeley
10/03/2019 – OSSIA Ensemble at Kilbourn Hall, Eastman School of Music