ENSEMBLE
orchestra
INSTRUMENTATION
mezzo-soprano | 2.2.2.2 | 4.2.1.0 | timp.1perc* | strings
*PERCUSSION
crotales, suspended cymbal, marimba
DURATION
8′ 00″
Commissioned by Garrett Rigsby for the UMKC Chamber Orchestra.
Premiered December 5, 2017, by Kelly Birch and the UMKC Chamber Orchestra.
PROGRAM NOTES
On peaks and clouds was written for Garrett Rigsby to be premiered by the UMKC Chamber Orchestra on a program featuring Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring. Knowing this classic would be on the program led me to reflect on my own youth in the Rocky Mountains, and the cold beauty of ascending peaks far above the clouds. This piece traces that journey toward the mountain top, blending a mix of austere colors with fuzzy and dissonant clusters.