Asylum                                                         

Listen                                              

Look                                               

Instrumentation

Fl-2(2-pic), Ob-2(2-eh)

Cl-2(2-bcl), Bn-2(2-cbn) / Hn-4, Tp-2, Tbn-2, Btbn, Tba / timp, 2-perc / strings

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Duration

7 mins

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Completion

December 2013

Brighton, MA

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Premiere

March 13, 2014

Boston Conservatory Composer's Orchestra,

Eric Hewitt conductor.

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About                                             

Asylum is my very first piece for orchestra. I felt like a crazy person trying to grapple with all of the potential and possibilities of writing for a large ensemble. The piece revolves around one melody which weaves itself through several different scenarios. The mood is constantly shifting, from joyous to tragic. It opens with a scrape of the tam-tam, which grows into a contrabassoon solo. The rest of the orchestra begins to emerge from the muck, until the burst into the main melody. The melody travels through several episodes, until becoming engulfed by a sinister outburst by the brass and percussion. The piece ends back in the same uncomfortable space that it begins.