Droughts and Downpours

Droughts and Downpours (2024) was commissioned by the Tanglewood Music Center and explores the concepts of scarcity and abundance through the sonic depiction of rainfall (or lack thereof). The ensemble evokes doubt, longing, hope, and joy through sound worlds of aridity, mist, drizzle, and deluge; harmonics and pizzicato braid with ostinati and percussive effects in search of "enough." As climate change has made droughts "more frequent, longer, and more severe" (usgs.gov), how can we cherish and care for the world around us?

Droughts and Downpours was commissioned by the Tanglewood Music Center with the generous support of the Merwin Geffen M.D. and Norman Solomon M.D. New Commissions Fund. Enormous gratitude to Nicholas Walker, Krista Kopper, Dani Meier, Maggie Ryan, and the University of Michigan Double Bass Studio for their guidance and generosity during the writing of this work.