Water Harmony (2018)
Instrumentation: Violin, Cello, Piano
 
Duration: 6:30
PDF digital download.
Performance Rights through BMI.
Watch the Premiere here.
 
Program Notes:
"Water Harmony" was written in 2018 as part of the Grand Valley State University Water Project "Sub-merge," an interdisciplinary project to improve water awareness through performance art, codirected by biologist Al Steinman, dancer Hannah Seidel, and pianist Sookkyung Cho. Despite the importance of water as an absolute need to sustain life, a 2016 study showed that 60% of Michiganders did not realize they live in a watershed. "Water Harmony" depicts the Native American's respect and awe for water as a source of food, navigation, and spiritual connection. These tribes lived, traveled, and traded along the Great Lakes for thousands of years: "Mishigami" is the Ojibwe word for "large lake." When Europeans settled in Detroit, Mackinac Island, and Chicago, the waterways became the region's first economic engine, serving as the conduits for shipping goods and raw materials. Musically, "Water Harmony" is inspired by the French Impressionists and their ability to capture the flow of water through running sixteenth notes. The opening is inspired by Ravel's Le Tombeau de Couperin, while other moments evoke segments from Debussy's La Mer.