SAPIEN.
Opus. 54
Instrumentation: Flute, Oboe, Cello, Piano
Duration: 15 Minutes, Four Movements
Commissioned by: River Oaks Chamber Orchestra
Cover Art: Sasha Parfenova
Scroll down for program note, recording, perusal score,
purchase options, and commissioner biography
PROGRAM NOTE.
When flutist Brook Ferguson approached me with this commission for River Oak Chamber Orchestra's 18/19 season, we talked about the season's main theme: "Games People Play". Brooke and I had decided on some sort of celestial piece already, and this fit so well in that trying to figure out humanity's place among these huge bodies of rotating mass may be the ultimate game, just one we haven't quite won yet. SAPIEN takes its inspiration from slow, deep unknown of black holes, the possibilities brought to us by the Higgs Boson "God Particle", and in between, the beautiful and the delicate, the terrifying and the unknown of how our species and the others around us have made it quite this far. I'm so grateful to Brook, Alecia Lawyer, and the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra for commissioning this piece, and I hope you enjoy this ride throughout a part of a gorgeously intricate history (and future) that we still only have glimpses of.
Details // Concert Prep
-
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 ; - )
-
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.
-
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.
recording.
COMMISSIONER biography.
Alecia Lawyer, founder of ROCO
ROCO is a dynamic and innovative professional music ensemble that flexes from 1 to 40 players from all over the US and Canada, with guest artists from around the world. Performing intimate concerts in dozens of venues, ROCO’s musicians don’t just give concerts – they challenge preconceptions, create extraordinary experiences, and foster new relationships with audiences through the language of music.
ROCO’s debut album, Visions Take Flight, was recognized for a GRAMMY® Award for Producer of the Year, Blanton Alspaugh. Widely recognized for diversity in programming, a recent study from the Institute for Composer Diversity found ROCO is the number one ensemble in the US for performing the works of women and number two for the works of composers of color. Additionally, ROCO has the third-highest number of world premiere commissions in the United States and has premiered over 100 commissions from living composers. ROCO embraces technology, with free worldwide concert livestreams and real-time artist commentary via a smartphone app (search for ROCO Houston), as well as on-demand recordings of past concerts via popular music streaming services and our own Listening Room. A vital part of the community, ROCO concert DVDs are sent to nursing homes and hospitals to bring music to those immobile communities, and their music education/childcare program, ROCOrooters, attracts multigenerational audiences.