Triptych: three uninterrupted episodes for oboe & marimba

Details:
for oboe and marimba
10 minutes

Commissioned by Jonathan Thompson.
Premiered by Jonathan Thompson and West Fox at the University of North Texas; November 20, 2016.
To purchase parts and score, please contact me.

About the work:
Triptych was conceived as a three-part characterization of wood as an element in the Chinese philosophy of Wu Xing. This theory of Five Elements associates wood with Springtime, and thus the characteristics associated with the period. The three episodes of Triptych--Impulse, Expansion, and Growth--are all of equal importance and dependent on one another. Each episode carries with it a seed of an idea that is then blossomed into a major feature of the following episode. Along with this cyclical structure, two important characteristics as described by the Wu Xing philosophy are integral to the musical realization of Wood: strength and flexibility. These two traits are apparent at every level of the piece, and were key to determining the structure and basic materials for composition.