flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano and percussion - 10 min.
Program Notes:
This work is named after a late Jurassic-age predecessor to modern birds. The first movement is titled "Zoogenesis," which is a rarely used biological term referring to the evolution of animals. The material in this section evokes images of a profusion of ancient beasts -- both land and air born. "Fossilization" was chosen for the second movement because the musical material becomes metamorphosed and compressed in the same way fossils are formed. "Orogenesis," the title of the third movement, is the geological term for mountain building. The musical material goes through a series of metric upheavals in a fashion somewhat analogous to geologic faulting.
Musically, the work strives to synthesize myriad influences from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, including Oliver Messiaen, Igor Stravinsky, Conlon Nancarrow, Gyorgy Ligeti, Michael Gordon, Frank Zappa, George Crumb, and others. The work also contains imports from other arts, including several instances of humorous deus ex machina.
Performance History:
Reading: February 5, 2007
Pendulum New Music series - eighth blackbird reading session - Grusin Hall, University of Colorado at Boulder
eighth blackbird: Timothy Munroe, flutes, Michael J. Maccaferri, clarinets, Matt Albert, violin, Nicholas Photinos, cello, Matt Duvall, percussion, Lisa Kaplan, piano
World Premiere: May 25, 2007
1st Annual Colorado Composers Concert - Bethany Lutheran Church, Denver CO
The Playground: Cheryl Gooden, flutes, Brian Ebert, clarinet, Angie Dombrowski, violin, Richard von Foerster, cello, Jason Rodon, percussion, Alix Corboy, piano, Jonathan Leathwood, conductor
Ohio Premiere: June 15, 2007
Music07 Festival - Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Cincinnati OH
Seonhee Jang, flutes, Patrick Hanudel, clarinets, Wan-lin Tsai, violin, Ryan Child, cello, Davy Anderson, percussion, Yoon-Sun Song, piano, Albert Pinsonneault, conductor
3rd performance: September 18, 2007
Modern Miscellana - Hamilton Recital Hall, Newman Center for the Performing Arts, Denver CO
The Playground: Cheryl Gooden, flutes, Brian Ebert, clarinet, Angie Dombrowski, violin, Richard von Foerster, cello, Jason Rodon, percussion, Alix Corboy, piano, Jonathan Leathwood, conductor
4th performance: September 26, 2007
Pendulum New Music series - Grusin Hall, University of Colorado at Boulder
The Playground: Cheryl Gooden, flutes, Brian Ebert, clarinet, Angie Dombrowski, violin, Richard von Foerster, cello, Jason Rodon, percussion, Alix Corboy, piano, Jonathan Leathwood, conductor
Recording