Balancing Act (2021)

Instrumentation: Viola

Duration: 1:30

Performances:

Recorded by Lauren Perala, viola
Karen Head, voice

Program Notes:

In the late summer of 2021 I was approached by Dr. Karen Head to compose a piece of music to accompany a poem she was writing to celebrate the autumnal equinox at S&T’s Stonehenge replica. Upon reading Karen’s gorgeous poem I was moved to write something that embraced the feeling of encroaching darkness and the gorgeous stagnant quality of the light that remains. Autumn has always been my favorite season and in writing this piece I wanted to put into music the reasons why. The piece was recorded by my extraordinarily talented wife, Lauren.

The first “performance” (it was a playing of this recording over a loudspeaker) was on September 22, 2021 at nearly the exact moment of the autumnal equinox.