About the Piece

Reflections on an Autumn Sky (2007) is an organic work that is propelled by the opening two chords, heard in an short-long rhythm.  This rhythmic motive is heard throughout in various forms, often expanded (i.e. – short-long-long-short or short-long-long-long-long-short, etc.).  Autumn is a season of drastic change, attractive colors, a time of reminiscence of the recently passed summer months, and a foreshadowing of the darkness and winter chill that looms.  In this piece, I try to capture these ideas musically with rapid arpeggios, playful grace notes, frequent shifts in register and dense sonorities.  This work was inspired by a late October 2007 sky observed at Fort McHenry in Baltimore, MD.

​