Program Notes:

Birth of a Monarch was composed during the 2024 Sewanee Summer Music Festival. We were given a week to work with an assigned performer and develop an unaccompanied piece to highlight the strengths of the performer's instrument. After lots of discussion about repertoire, technique, personal background, and concepts, Birth of a Monarch quickly came to life. Depicting the beginning of a bird’s life,  its trial and error as it learns to fly, and its eventual success and flight away from home, the piece makes use of the flute's range, color, extended techniques, and dexterity to vividly paint the bird’s story.  It was an absolute joy to learn about the nuances of the flute and its performance capabilities, and also to compose a work that lets go of some of the control on certain aspects and lets the performer have freedom with the shaping of the piece. This piece is firmly inspired by the learning process of trial and error and communication between two entities, whether it is the composer and performer, performer and audience, or any mixture.