KALEIDOSCOPE (2021)

for orchestra [2(1.picc).2.2.2 - 4.3.3.1 - timp.2perc* - harp - strings]

Duration: 5.5’

Premiere: January 26, 2023 @ Centennial Concert Hall, Winnipeg MB (as part of the 2023 Winnipeg New Music Festival)

Dmitri Zrajevski (conductor), Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra

*Percussion instrumentation:

1 = Glockenspiel, Bass Drum, Tambourine

2 = Xylophone, China Cymbal (Medium), Tam-Tam

Programme Note:

The term ‘kaleidoscope’ derives from three Greek words: kalos (beauty; beautiful), eidos (form; shape), and skopeō (to examine). It quite literally translates to “examining beautiful shapes and forms”.

The term was first used in relation to the invention of the 19th-century optical instrument that transforms the world into luminous and symmetrical geometric images through the magic of light and mirrors. This idea of a constantly transforming and rotating image forms the basis of this piece – I wanted to explore how the manipulation of musical shapes and colour can produce an ever-changing landscape that seamlessly spins, collides, and morphs within itself.

There is a specific moment, when looking through a kaleidoscope, where elements of the image will briefly shift and connect with other parts during its rotation. This event became a focal point and structural element throughout the piece. There is a feeling of moving in and out of focus, with gestures pulling apart and then snapping back together again. The entire piece moves through these various ‘rotations’, allowing me to not only play with how ideas move into each other, but also the rate at which these ‘rotations’ occur.

At some points, this creates a sense of stasis between ‘rotations’ where musical ideas feel suspended and crystalline. At others points, the ‘rotations’ will occur more quickly, creating a sense of momentum as musical images spin and fluctuate dramatically between one another.