Program Notes

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    When I moved to Cincinnati, the length of time to visit home (Central Pennsylvania) increased enough to make flying a much more convenient option. The first of these trips was to visit old friends from my alma mater in West Chester, near Philadelphia. My flight there was rather early in the morning, and luckily there was minimal cloud cover and a very bright sun illuminating the sky. As the plane gained altitude the fragmentary landscape of Ohio unfolded beneath us. I was taken aback by what I saw – the landscape was outlined with lines of trees and access roads, and the fields they bordered shimmered and glistened with the morning sun. This stretched in every direction to the horizon, and this awesome sight instantly compelled a musical response via a bright polychord in the upper register of the piano, imitating this shimmering effect. Cadenza-like responses from the other three instruments comment on the angular, blinding colors radiating from this chord, and the piece unfolds the morning scene that was so impressed into my mind, complete with heralding birds.

    I will always love my native state, but Ohio still has beautiful surprises to unfold.

- January 6 2018

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