Rock Hill

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More Information

Rock Hill for Pierrot Ensemble was written for the ONIX Ensamble as part of the 2021 RED NOTE Composition Workshop. The work was composed during the COVID-19 pandemic in December 2020 and January 2021, mostly while in residence at the Copland House, Cortlandt Manor, New York, as a recipient of the Copland House Residency Award. The title comes from the original name of the Copland House, which, as you might expect, sits upon a rock at the top of a hill, and perhaps connects to the frequent large leaping intervals used in the piece. This work uses only the pitches within a single mode which can be described as a major scale with lowered 2nd and 3rd and raised 4th and 6th scale degrees. This mode is labeled as “II M” John Foulds’ table of 90 modes from his 1934 book Music To-Day and gives a distinctive harmonic and melodic character to the piece.

Premiered November 15, 2021 by ONIX Ensamble at Interciclos: International Festival of New Music in Queretaro, Mexico.