Dragonflies

for Saxophone Quartet (SATB)

Commissioned and premiered by the Iridium Quartet at the Red Note New Music Festival, Illinois State University. February 2019
Duration: 9'


Program Notes

The piece attempts to bring a garden full of dragonflies to life. While small and delicate, they are vigorous and energetic: the music depicts these creatures moving around space, alternating between being further from and closer to our ear, and between clustered and spread out. It captures their quick flutter vibrations and their wings' fleeting color changes. To evoke these visual effects, the piece uses several parameters -- various registral spans, dynamics, and speed -- and features flutter-tonguing and trills.


[ Score excerpt (opens in new tab)]

Soprano - Paul Nolen
Alto - Marcos Colon
Tenor - Paul J. Forsyth
Baritone - Eric Lau