Ithaka

mvmt. 1: Poem. Dissonant chords abound with jazz influences and shades of Greek folk dance, all centered around the pulsating and repetitive symmetry of the hexatonic scale. It was partially inspired by the poem "Oakland, California, San Francisco" by Greek surrealist poet Nanos Valaoritis, about his once-lost creative inspiration reborn in a cityscape that is as dystopian as it is beautiful. 510 and 415 represent the area codes of these two cities, and also constitute various pitches within the hexatonic set. mvmt 2: Elegy. Elegy depicts a dystopian sound world. I call it such because one portion of the movement, though not all of it, recalls my personal experience of performing in Greece as a cellist in the aftermath of the 2023 Tempi train crash. mvmt 3: Dance. it's a dance.

Performed as part of my graduation recital in Hertz Hall, May 2025.