Program Notes
Presence was the culminating work of a yearlong collaboration with Austin Classical Guitar — the title of the piece was the theme of ACG’s season. What does it mean to be present with one another?
Guitar was my first instrument. I remember sitting in the waiting room before my first guitar lesson as an eight year old, and thinking, “I know this is the beginning of something really big in my life.” It was. Everything that has followed in my career came out of that first lesson.
It’s hard to describe this piece, because it wasn’t created to be described — it was created as an experience with the people involved — the people who were present — and we built it organically over the course of our year together. There are elements of Hindustani raag, wild solo passages for guitar and bassoon, choral moments setting poetry written by the students in some of the ensembles that loosely follows the idea of a journey through the night sky.
Recording
(see video above)
Premiere/Performances
Presence was commissioned by Austin Classical Guitar, as part of the 2023-2024 composer residency. It was premiered on February 17, 2024 in Austin TX by Dieter Hennings, guitar; Kristin Wolfe Jensen, bassoon; VAMP Vocals; and four ensembles from Austin Classical Guitar programs, conducted by Joe Williams.
