Loved and Feared

Details:
for Bb Clarinet, Violin, Piano, and Percussion (triangle, wood block, temple blocks, vibraphone)
8 minutes

Co-commissioned by Caine School of the Arts, Utah State University, and the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music

About the work:
In recent months I have found myself becoming interested in music that shows its seams; music of contrasts. Loved and Feared is an attempt at bluntly foregrounding the contrasting elements while suggesting a unifying thread. Toward the end of the writing process I was listening to a discussion about a quasi-religious cult leader attempting to amass a following. One person described them as wanting to be loved, the other person described them as wanting to be feared. I thought to myself that a person like this could want both of these things—which on the surface seem diametrically opposed—as a means to the same end. In a similar way, Loved and Feared uses opposing materials to achieve a sense of cohesion and unity among the performers.