Works

Kiikku – キック (2017), 5:30

for wind quintet
premiered 07.05.2017, Chicago

Imani Winds

My starting point for this short work was the superposition of two worlds: tight, rhythmic, syncopated harmony and a long, elastic melody that is seemingly unmoored to pulse. Initially, the latter evokes instruments of a traditional Japanese Gagaku ensemble such as the hichiriki (double reed pipe) and the shakuhachi (wooden flute). After workshopping the material with Imani Winds, I completed the piece at the Gjutars artist residency in Vantaa, Finland. Kiikku means “swing” in Finnish, and, roughly transliterated, “kick” in Japanese.