performed by the Fresno State New Music Ensemble

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Instrumentation: Flute, Clarinet, Violin, Cello, Vibraphone, and Piano

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Duration: 13:00

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Premiere: March 9, 2015 - Fresno State New Music Ensemble - CSU Fresno, Fresno, CA

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Program Notes:

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I wrote In the Shadow of Ararat to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1915 Armenian Genocide. As a descendant of Armenian Genocide survivors, the centennial holds a solemn place in my family history as it does in the history of the Armenian people. The title is a reference to Mount Ararat, a national symbol for Armenians. Mount Ararat holds an important place in Armenian culture and dominates the skyline of Yerevan, Armenia's capital, yet today lies just beyond the border with Turkey. The piece has direct connections, both musical and extramusical, to Armenian traditional music, art, and culture. Structural and textural characteristics of Armenian music influence elements of my piece, the number three, referencing the Holy Trinity, pervades, and the form is modeled after Mount Ararat's two peaks.

 

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More information about the premiere performance: "Marking a Genocide's Anniversary by Celebrating Armenian Composers," Alice Daniel, The California Report