This is my award-winning piece NEST for flute, viola, and cello being played by @mariabustosflute, @its_a_blind_guess, and @jcracolici_35! It was premiered by @radiusensemble on May 8th in recognition of the Pappalardo Composition Award, and performed again by Maria Bustos, Vincent Francis, and Joe Cracolici at my composition recital May 14th. From my spoken program notes 5/14: This piece was written at a time where I felt deeply unsettled. In the past, that feeling would maybe cause me to retreat or cower away, but in this instance, I felt more of an inner ferocity and sense of urgency to protect the things I care about. My own reaction reminded me of some encounters I’ve had in the wilderness with animals protecting their young: for instance, a pheasant ruffling its feathers and squawking at me, or being tracked along a trail by a reindeer making sure I was staying away from its baby, and even once being bluff-charged by a mama bear, whose cubs I had accidentally scared up a tree. I named the piece NEST. It begins in a space of calm, representing the nest itself, then in the middle, it surges into an Appalachian-inspired romp, channeling that fiery mama bear energy. My studio professor Alexandra du Bois (@a_du_bright) encouraged me to include my voice figuratively in this piece, which I did by making a late addition of a sacred choral-like passage that appears midway through the piece, and again at the end. I’m so glad she encouraged me to do so. Thank you to Radius Ensemble and Maria, Vincent, and Joe for these special performances! #newclassical #appalachianmusic #classicalfolk #flute #viola #cello #triomusic #newcomposition #nest #newmusic