Nimbostratus (2021)
For Wind Ensemble
4:30 minutes
(3,3,3,3 4,3,3,B.Trmb. Tuba 3 perc.)
Commissioned by the Portland Youth Philharmonic for a May 2021 video premiere.
This piece is part of the Portland Youth Philharmonic Commissioning Program. If you'd like more information, or to join the consortium, go here.
Program Notes:
In meteorology, a nimbostratus cloud is a multi-level, grey, often dark, amorphous, nearly uniform cloud that usually produces continuous rain, snow, or sleet but no lightning or thunder.
This short piece is a musical representation of these clouds. The music seems ominous at times, lithe in others and there is always a slight precipitation going on. One hears the coming-together of the grey, dark clouds, with the continuous raindrops. The multi-level nature of these clouds is represented musically by diverse layers of materials that coalesce to create larger masses. The music never quite gets loud enough to simulate thunder, but one feels that the threat of it is never far away.