ANCESTRY VARIATIONS.
Opus. 05
Instrumentation: Violin, Cello, Piano
Duration: 11.5 Minutes, One Movement
Commissioned By: The Meadowlark Trio
Scroll down for program note, recording, perusal score,
purchase options, and commissioner biography
PROGRAM NOTE.
When I first approached this project with the Meadowlark Trio, we discussed a set of variations on a folk song; something I would make up to suit this purpose. For ANCESTRY VARIATIONS, I wrote a folk song in the style of my Gaelic ancestors—elongating a melody I’d written as a love song for my grandmother and my Scottish grandfather when I was 14—and subsequently played with its themes borrowing from my other ancestors – the musical ones. This piece pays tribute to both blood lineage and mind lineage, and is dedicated to and was premiered by some dear friends, the Larks.
I used to know a flower friend
Purple tuffets on each end
I can't seem to find it anymore
Perhaps it's lost in the days of yore
Beyond the moorland
Beyond the sea
O'er the hills
That's where they be
Details // Concert Prep
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PDF Score + Part(s) sent via email within 2-3 business days. I’m excited to connect with you!
Purchase is for one copy only, just for you! Please don’t share or else I’ll be sad when I see it in my google alerts ; - )
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I want to meet you! Purchase of this pdf in the 23/24 season comes with a 30 min zoom session, if you’d appreciate that during your rehearsal process. You’ll receive scheduling instructions in the delivery email with your music.
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I’m excited to help promote your concert(s) on social media and include it on the website!
If you already have a concert date in mind, you’ll receive instructions on sending me concert info in the delivery email with your music.
commissioner biography.
The Meadowlark Piano Trio hails from America’s heartland. Formed by three best friends in 2012, the trio has since performed nationwide to great acclaim, and they were named semi-finalists in the 2017 Fischoff International Chamber Music Competition. Festival appearances include: Toronto Summer Music Festival, Garth Newel Music Center, St. Lawrence String Quartet Seminar, Avaloch Music Residency, and Caroga Lake Music Festival, where they were the first ensemble-in-residence. The trio has performed in diverse concert venues, ranging from the Carnegie Room Concerts and Spectrum Music Series in New York, to Bing Concert Hall in California, to house concerts in Montana. The trio’s members received advanced degrees from the Shepherd School at Rice University, and the Cleveland Institute of Music. Their mentors have been musicians from the Chiara Quartet, Cavani Quartet, Bayla Keyes, and Daniel Shapiro.
The Meadowlark Trio looks beyond the conventional model of classical music in a recital hall. In addition to repertoire from the canon, the trio participates actively in the creation of new music and has commissioned multiple works by living composers such as Nels Drue Daily, Stephanie Boyd, and Thomas Dougherty. The trio is also deeply committed to community outreach. and it performs regularly in schools, nursing homes, community centers, and hospitals. For the 2018-19 season, the Meadowlark Trio members are fellows for Music for Food (musicforfood.net), and they will present concerts and workshops throughout the greater Boston area, to benefit local food pantries.
In their free time, the trio mates enjoy obsessively playing board games, attempting to ski, and making pizza from scratch.