What's Beneath Subterranean Dance

A brief excursion through my chamber sextet Subterranean Dance

It's like a bad Steven Wright line: the problem with new music concerts is that they always play music you don't know. 

So I have an idea: what if I give something to listen for in my music the same way I do for Beethoven and Brahms for my preconcert talks with the LA Philharmonic? ....

I'm starting by revealing the secret of my 7 minute sextet Subterranean Dance, a piece that Brightwork newmusic will perform on my November 3, 2017 concert at Boston Court Performing Arts Center in Pasadena. Let me know what you think of the short 3 minute video above that does just that. Does it make you curious to hear the entire work?

Subterranean Dance is written for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, and one percussion player playing marimba and vibraphone. It's basically a mini-orchestra with huge possibilities for different colors. While many pieces start from simply and have a big finish, Subterranean Dance does the opposite. It begins in a frenzy. But after a while, a slower, more reflective music keeps trying to emerge. By the end of the piece it surfaces as a nocturne that wafts upwards in distant hazy resonance.