oceanic snapshots

oceanic snapshots is a four-movement work for solo alto flute, forst composed in 2023 and revised in 2025. This piece can be played on C flute or bass flute but was written for the specific timbres of the alto flute, specifically the rich and strong low register and brittle high register.

Kelp grows in large, dense groups, forming areas known as kelp forests, typically located in temperate and polar regions, though some have recently been discovered in tropical regions. The movement makes use of the whole range of the alto flute – the rich, loamy colors in the low register and the translucent upper register contribute to the murky, yet grand character.

Garden eels are the common name for Heterocongrinae, a subfamily in the larger conger eel family congridae. They live in burrows in the sand and get their name from their behavior of poking their heads out – because they live in colonies, they can resemble plants growing in a garden. The movement opens with a sort of polka-like groove, which is disrupted as the music develops while remaining bouncy and playful throughout.

Seafowl was inspired by petrels and albatrosses, both in the family Procellariiformes – these birds feed in the open ocean, mostly nest on remote islands, and are known for being able to soar great distances with little exertion using flight techniques called dynamic and slope soaring. The movement alternates between sparser music that emulates bird calls, with liberal use of flutter tonguing to mimic the “growling” sounds made by petrels, and soaring melodies to represent the long flights these birds are capable of.

Coral reefs, like kelp forests, are incredibly biodiverse marine ecosystems. They are mostly found in the Indo-Pacific region, and the most famous of these is Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. This final movement is fast, with a perpetual motion-like texture that is meant to represent how active and teeming with life these reefs are. The movement starts low and quiet, with subtle swells, then rises as it builds to a climax before diving back down and ending low, quiet, and delicate.