Moritūra Terra – Dying Earth. This piece is the winner of the 2016 Sonoma State University composition competition. The requirement was a string orchestra piece that had in some way a relation to the earth, given that the concert took place in on April 22, Earth Day. It was performed by the Sonoma State University Orchestra in the world renowned Weill Hall to open the concert. In order to write the piece, I thought about humanity and its relationship with earth, seeking to illustrate its intimacy — both the good and the bad.
        Though the piece can be interpreted in any way the audience so chooses, there are themes that certainly reflect the phenomena of our world. The ambiguous opening chord, which you’ll note is actually a muted version of the same chord a string orchestra tunes to, evokes a vast expanse that the mind can fill with imagery. I personally see an immense mountain range with shades of morning alpenglow, but I have heard many other wonderful interpretations. With the setting of nature established by a harmonically natural and lush voicing of strings, the piece moves on to declare its main theme; the entrance of humanity.
        If there’s one juxtaposition to be heard in Moritūra Terra, it’s that which lies in the difference of its melody and its harmony. A solo violin flits above a muted grandeur of strings in tight voicings — humanity atop the earth. The solo violin pursues a very diatonic and convicted melody line while the orchestra ebbs and flows between stacks of rich fifths. In the wistful conclusion, the solo violin joins its benefactor in the resolution of a double suspension. The piece ends ambivalently, so as to suggest that whether or not this is a reflection of reality is yet unknown.