Brass Orchids

Instrumentation: clarinet, trombone, cello

Duration: 12′

Program note:

Brass Orchids is a vibrant, sometimes quirky, work that focuses on rhythmic and timbral interaction between this unusual combination of instruments. At times the texture is dotted with hocket-like rhythms; at other times, there are off-kilter quarter-tone announcements. The work unwinds like a broken stopwatch or a piece of broken machinery that, in the end, runs out of gas. The title is a reference to a piece of iconic imagery from the novel Dhalgren by Samuel Delaney.