Early thinkers from a variety of the world’s philosophical schools and traditions held the “classical elements” (some variation of earth, water, fire, wind, and aether) as the basis of their worldview. Each movement of my piece explores its own sound world and draws emotional inspiration from the elements Earth, Wind, and Fire. The first movement, “Terre,” meditates on our cyclical connection to the earth and the pain and struggle that we experience as we wander through life on it. “Vent” imagines a dying ember of hope that is nearly blown out by the wind. Instead of dying out, the ember harnesses the wind’s energy and transforms into a billowing flame. Lastly, “Feu” is full of fiery technique, written in a quasi-rondo form, and asks the players to explore their incendiary virtuosity.

Commissioned by: 

Duo Entre-Nous (Jackie Glazier & Don-Paul Kahl) 

Consortium Members:

Arianna Hammond & Jonathan Yanik

Dana Booher & Ashley Booher

Fountain City Duo (Jared Cummings & Nola Preston)

Jeffrey Leung

8/11 Duo (Evelynn Esquivel & Kate Kalina)

Ben Still & Jessica Lindsey

Duo Ferula (Blake Adams & Kelli Ray)

Xin Gao

BASSic (Stefanie Gardner & Bonson Lee)

Jeremy Koch

AJ Pratt & James Rayle

The _____ Experiment (Michelle Cusick & Andrew Hosler)

Medli (Ashtyn Wolph & Sophia Lee)

Mark J. Cramer & Matthew Younglove

Lee Redfearn

Christopher Creviston & Joshua Gardner

Bob Eason

Kyle Blake Jones & Richard Galbreath

Hannah Hickman & Chadwick Thomas

Jonathan Hulting-Cohen

Ranidaphobia Duo (Corey Mackey & Allen Cordingley)

Juan Guzman

George Adam Rosas