"collectively alone" |
for solo violin
Duration: ~8'30"
Commissioned by Musaics of the Bay
Inspired by the painting Shifting Rhythm by Sherry Karver
Premiere: December 28, 2020 by Sam Weiser, virtual premiere for Musaics of the Bay's Stay-at-Home Symposium
This piece was a commission by Musaics of the Bay for their Stay-At-Home Symposium, an initiative to commission solo works could be performed in isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given a selection of community-submitted art pieces to base our work on, I selected a painting by Oakland-based artist Sherry Karver called Shifting Rhythm, depicting a timelapse of people passing through Grand Central Station. She imagines a background story for certain strangers that stand out to her and superimposes these fictional bios on top of them.
As we reflect on issues of our modern society, such as technology pushing us apart or the political landscape, Sherry embraces these issues in a beautifully self-reflective way, which deeply resonated with my own musical approach. This painting is one of many in her Urban City series, but I was attracted by this piece’s depiction of Grand Central Station’s bustling activity and as a familiar location to so many locals and tourists. I chose to title the piece “collectively alone”, taking a direct excerpt from Sherry’s artist statement on this series. When she talks about superimposing biographies on top of these strangers, she writes, “The figures are often caught in movement, conveying our individual journeys, where we are all ‘collectively alone’”. I love when art looks for beauty in unconventional places, and there’s something romantic about Sherry’s depiction of strangers, from the perspective of a self-proclaimed people-watcher.
In this piece, I hone in on Sherry's themes of alienation and identity. Pointillism and minimalism, imbued with romantic gestures, were the guiding principles for my composition process. The general structure of my piece is in two parts that reflect the two main feelings I associate with living in an urban setting such as San Francisco, or back to my years growing up just outside of New York City, where I had this romantic idea of the city that’s now a little bit disillusioned. The opening represents this lonely feeling that we often associate with city-living — the musical gestures are fast but sparse. After a groove is established, I ask the violinist to meditate on their identity and sense of belonging in this indifferent world.
Lastly, I want to give big thanks to Sherry for her beautiful artwork; my friend Sam, whom I’ve been wanting to collaborate with for years – it was well worth the wait; and Audrey Vardanega and Musaics for the Bay for bringing the three of us together.
Duration: ~8'30"
Commissioned by Musaics of the Bay
Inspired by the painting Shifting Rhythm by Sherry Karver
Premiere: December 28, 2020 by Sam Weiser, virtual premiere for Musaics of the Bay's Stay-at-Home Symposium
This piece was a commission by Musaics of the Bay for their Stay-At-Home Symposium, an initiative to commission solo works could be performed in isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given a selection of community-submitted art pieces to base our work on, I selected a painting by Oakland-based artist Sherry Karver called Shifting Rhythm, depicting a timelapse of people passing through Grand Central Station. She imagines a background story for certain strangers that stand out to her and superimposes these fictional bios on top of them.
As we reflect on issues of our modern society, such as technology pushing us apart or the political landscape, Sherry embraces these issues in a beautifully self-reflective way, which deeply resonated with my own musical approach. This painting is one of many in her Urban City series, but I was attracted by this piece’s depiction of Grand Central Station’s bustling activity and as a familiar location to so many locals and tourists. I chose to title the piece “collectively alone”, taking a direct excerpt from Sherry’s artist statement on this series. When she talks about superimposing biographies on top of these strangers, she writes, “The figures are often caught in movement, conveying our individual journeys, where we are all ‘collectively alone’”. I love when art looks for beauty in unconventional places, and there’s something romantic about Sherry’s depiction of strangers, from the perspective of a self-proclaimed people-watcher.
In this piece, I hone in on Sherry's themes of alienation and identity. Pointillism and minimalism, imbued with romantic gestures, were the guiding principles for my composition process. The general structure of my piece is in two parts that reflect the two main feelings I associate with living in an urban setting such as San Francisco, or back to my years growing up just outside of New York City, where I had this romantic idea of the city that’s now a little bit disillusioned. The opening represents this lonely feeling that we often associate with city-living — the musical gestures are fast but sparse. After a groove is established, I ask the violinist to meditate on their identity and sense of belonging in this indifferent world.
Lastly, I want to give big thanks to Sherry for her beautiful artwork; my friend Sam, whom I’ve been wanting to collaborate with for years – it was well worth the wait; and Audrey Vardanega and Musaics for the Bay for bringing the three of us together.
