Murmuring Light (2019)
for orchestra: 2222 | 4331 | 3 perc | hp | pno | str
duration: 7'
Programme Note
In Studio Drift’s interactive light installation Flylight, many delicate glass tubes light up in unpredictable swarm-like patterns. These patterns are based on the flock behavior of birds, and are responsive to the viewer’s movement. While birds can symbolize individual freedom, in a murmuration they find safety in numbers, sensing each other’s direction and moving collectively. In Murmuring Light, I explore this delicate balance between the individual and the group. Through various musical parameters, the distinction between ‘individual’ and ‘group' is heightened and blurred, in a continuous shift of light.
Murmuring Light won Manhattan School of Music's Carl Kanter Award for Excellence in Orchestral Composition in May 2019. Its New Zealand premiere will be given by Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and Music Director Giordano Bellincampi at 'Conflict and Triumph' on November 14th 2019.
Performance History
Thu 14th Nov, 2019
New Zealand premiere by Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, conductor Giordano Bellincampi (Auckland, New Zealand)
Fri 22nd March, 2019
premiered by Manhattan School of Music Composers Orchestra, conductor George Manahan at Neidorff-Karpati Hall (New York, NY)