Hummingbirds

Instrumentation: flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano

Year: 2015

Duration: 8 minutes

Program Note:
The beginning of the compositional process usually starts by some sort of improvisation at the piano.  I am not an exceptional pianist so oftentimes my improvisations are disjunct and full of starts and stops.  When it comes time to put my ideas down on paper, I will fix all of the mistakes that I have when I play and smooth things over.  With this piece though, I decided to embrace this idea of starting and stopping.  The piece opens with a small fluttering motion in the piano that is immediately followed by silence.  The beginning is a continuous play between sound and silence.  As the piece evolves, the music becomes smooth and more conjunct; however, this initial gesture does return.  "Hummingbirds" was written for the 2015 Atlantic Music Festival and was premiered by their contemporary ensemble in July.