still life triptych for solo marimba (2020)
still life triptych is a set of three miniatures that illustrate different angles of halted motion.
The first movement, "gently rising," is a series of waves which – while they feel like they are rising – result in very little displacement overall.
The second movement, "boxed in," encompasses the feelings of frustration of trying to move against walls that will not budge. (The core material of boxed in alludes to a section of Dave Hall’s “Liminality”, and exists as both a “thank-you” to his teaching and as an excuse to play one of my favorite parts of that piece.)
The third movement, "still life," is the off-center centerpiece of the work. It is inspired by sitting outside on my patio in April 2020, with absolutely no way to understand the time that was passing. Any motion around me – cars passing, animals chasing, leaves blowing – were magnified, but gone very quickly. Rather than focusing on these bursts of energy, "still life" grounds the middle of that scene and the feeling of sitting still through the passage of time.
Purchase (The Lion’s Roar, Vol. 1)