Clarinet Trio for clarinet, cello, and piano (2017)

Program Note

Composed for James Shields’ 2017 residency at the University of Oregon, Clarinet Trio is for clarinet, cello, and piano. It depicts an intense feeling of wonder and excitement, the experience of being almost overwhelmed by joy. Do you retreat from the it to guard yourself? Or, do you commit to allowing yourself to be vulnerable?

The piece opens with three instruments timbrally entwined, their sounds fused into a luminescent whole. The form of the piece also rotates around three sections. I chose these simple ternary relationships in leiu of the binary relationships that dominate much of Western culture. Clarinet Trio was premiered by James Shields, Laura Metcalf, and Conor Hanick at the University of Oregon’s Aasen Hull Hall.

Perusal Score

Clarinet-Trio-Perusal-Score

The image I have used to represent this composition is George Inness’ Sunrise in the Woods, which I first encountered in the eclectic collection of the Clarke Art Institute.