In Between II (2023)
For Orchestra
[2222 | 4221 | 3 perc | pno | hp | strings]
Co-Commissioned by the Oberlin College & Conservatory for the Oberlin Sinfonietta, Timothy Weiss, Director
Co-Commissioned by the New England Philharmonic, Tianhui Ng, Music Director
Dedicated to Michael Sporn and Beth Weiss, in memory
Duration: 15 minutes
Program Note
The inspiration for this work came from my standing in a forest near my house on a late afternoon. As I stood there amidst the trees – these magisterial, quiet, monumental, and seemingly wise beings – I felt their imposing yet comforting presence and listened to all the motion and movement that seemed to inhabit the “quiet” that surrounded me. It reminded me of a visit I made to my friend’s property in Vermont a few years prior, on an invitation to come and see the trees that were so dear to him, hoping they might inspire a musical composition. This has all been a starting point that unlocked my imagination in surprising ways, creating within and between spaces of stillness and motion and listening and singing. In the work, players perform rustling, feathery sounds, the conductor “paints” gesturally through the ensemble in a music filled with entwining, chorale-like singing, meditative stillness and vibrantly charged musical textures woven through it all.
In Between II (2023) was co-commissioned by the Oberlin College & Conservatory for the Oberlin Sinfonietta, Timothy Weiss, Director, and co-commissioned by the New England Philharmonic, Tianhui Ng, Music Director. In Between II is dedicated to Michael Sporn and Beth Weiss, in memory.
In Between II is a full orchestral expansion of In Between (2022) for ensemble which was commissioned by the Chicago Center for Contemporary Composition for the Grossman Ensemble, and was dedicated to the Grossman Ensemble, conductor Timothy Weiss, and director and founder Augusta Read Thomas, with admiration and gratitude.
Watch
New England Philharmonic | Tianhui Ng, Music Director
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Excerpts
Full Recording
Performed live by the Oberlin Sinfonietta | Timothy Weiss, Director