Prairie Concerto (2024)

Concerto in three movements for marimba, vibraphone, and wind ensemble - dedicated to Gillian MacKay and the University of Toronto Wind Ensemble

I. Shimmering Gold, Unfolding Skies ca. 6’00’’ (marimba)

II. Tumbling Sapphires ca. 4’45’’ (vibraphone)

III. Paradisum ca. 6’30’’ (marimba)

Total duration ca. 17’00’’

I have been writing about the natural world I grew up in for quite literally the entire time I’ve called myself a composer. Despite (perhaps feeble) attempts, I have been unable to extricate the profound experience of being in the prairies and mountains of Alberta with my personal and artistic self and have been exploring this connection through music for well over a decade. Prairie Concerto is the latest and perhaps most personal distillation of this alpine wandering – through three movements, each roughly portraying a tableau of Albertan scenery through progressive times of day, this concerto is a meditation on the profoundly moving, infinitely splendid natural world of the foothills and Canadian Rockies.

More personally, Prairie Concerto is a reflection on the meaning of home – how does one’s relationship change to where they grew up after moving away, going through undergrad (including a small public health crisis), and coming back? How does one’s coming of age affect how they see themselves and where they belong? These questions swirl through each movement in subtle but driving ostinatos, floating arpeggios, and invocations of the infinite sublime of a prairie-mountain soundscape.

With inspiration from compositional forebearers including Joseph Schwantner, Steve Reich, Russell Hartenberger, and Kati Agócs, Prairie Concerto embarks on a fundamentally human journey of change through shimmering fields of golden wheat at dawn, a frenzied mountain creek at midday, and a vast elysian sunset across the limestone cathedrals of the Rocky Mountains.