Title: Upcoming Attractions

Instruments: Clarinet in Bb and Piano

Program Notes:

Upcoming Attractions is a very personal piece for me. In April of 2014, when I started to write this work, I wanted to express my anticipation of and worries about the introduction of new life into my family. The piece has two sets of pitch collections – one that has a harsher, more dissonant feeling and the other that is much more consonant and is used to create an almost surreal lullaby. These are juxtaposed throughout but united by two rhythmic motives (based on two words represented in Morse code) that run through the entire piece in one way or another. My plan had been to finish the piece by the time Natalie arrived, but she surprised us by coming
early, and so the piece was put on hold while I adjusted to fatherhood. The music, when I picked it back up, started to represent my new experiences rather than my abstract worries. Art mirrors life (at least in this case…).

Written for the Julia Heinen

First Performed: Fall 2015: Julia Heinen and Francoise Regnat