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Wind Quintet
2023
Bassoon
Clarinet
Flute
Horn
Oboe
- Program Notes
- Sit and Play is my love letter to American jazz, blues, and bebop—filtered through my own whimsical sensibilities and written for wind quintet. When I began composing it in the spring of 2023, I imagined it as a set of thematic variations. However, as the music evolved, it took shape as a suite of virtuosic miniatures, each with a distinct bluesy character that spotlights the expressive and technical range of the individual players. The first movement, “Jab and Stab,” sets the tone with a rhapsodic, blues-inflected oboe solo. The rest of the ensemble engages in a playful exchange of “jabs” and “stabs,” borrowing from jazz arranging techniques. These rhythmic interjections create a syncopated dialogue, driving the music forward with wit and surprise. The second movement, “Breathe and Sing,” features an expressive bassoon solo and is dedicated to my first music teacher—my father. It functions as a variation on the oboe theme from the first movement but is cast in a more melancholic light. As the bassoon's lyrical voice unfolds, a delicate and anxious pulse emerges in the ensemble beneath it. In the third movement, “Cut and Paste,” a bold horn solo takes center stage. The ensemble fragments and hockets bits of scale patterns and motives from earlier movements, forming a musical collage that celebrates memory, invention, and playful recombination. The final movement, “Riff and Run,” is a vibrant scherzo driven by a fiery flute solo and brash, syncopated accompaniment. The “jab and stab” motive returns here, tying the work together through thematic recall. Though the clarinet never receives a full solo, it takes on a virtuosic counter-melodic role that adds another layer of energy and excitement. Sit and Play was a challenging and deeply personal piece to write. It marked a turning point in my development as a composer—a moment when I felt I had begun to achieve my artistic goals. I was especially proud of writing music that sounds improvised while remaining precisely notated, a paradox I find endlessly amusing and central to my creative voice. It was also my first large-scale chamber work composed entirely by hand, using pen and paper. While this process comes with limitations, I find it the most fruitful and fulfilling. Finally, the piece represents one of my earliest successes in drawing from blues expression and jazz harmony while reshaping them with my own rhythmic complexity and quirky sensibility. The work was written for the Imani Winds Emerging Composers Program in the summer of 2023 and is published by Dulcamara Press. It premiered that same summer in Juilliard's Paul Hall, performed by the Juicy Kandy wind quintet, featuring Kyrese Washington on flute, Kari Jenks on oboe, Marian Mayen on clarinet, Rachel Tubridy on horn, and Alexis Cerise on bassoon. Sit and Play was awarded third place in the 2024 American Prize's Charles Ives Award for Instrumental Chamber Music (College Division).
- Performer Credits
- Juicy Kandy wind quintet, featuring Kyrese Washington on flute, Kari Jenks on oboe, Marian Mayen on clarinet, Rachel Tubridy on horn, and Alexis Cerise on bassoon.
- Publisher
- Dulcamara Press
- External Links