White; an elegy (2012)

Duration: ca. 10′
Instrumentation: string quartet
Score

Over the course of the years 2010-2012, my family lost four members to sudden and unexpected heart attacks. My Aunt Laura had never, to the best of our knowledge, shown any signs of heart trouble, and her children (and my cousins) Elise, Eric, and Michelle were all in their 30’s. To help myself process this, and as a memorial gift for their surviving family, I wrote this piece for string quartet in the fall of 2012.

As I reflected on this, I came to the realization that the most recent, most present memories I had of them came from weddings: my wedding, my other cousins’ weddings, Michelle’s own wedding. I decided early on that this must be reflected in the piece, and these more tangible memories manifest as a dance that is light, joyful, and a bit off-kilter placed within and among the fragile, elegiac, almost intangible character of the rest.

WHITE – an elegy is dedicated to the memory of Laura, Elise, Eric, and Michelle White

PERFORMANCE HISTORY

June 22, 2014 – New York City, NY (world premiere)
Momenta Quartet
Mise-En New Music Festival