if you look up you can see the stars (2018)

piano. duration: the elapsed time between the astronomical twilight of dusk and dawn (in a given location and time).
(contact me for performance)

premiering at the 2020 New Music Gathering with R. Andrew Lee
Since the piece is so place-specific for the music and the audience, we are holding off until pandemic restrictions are relaxed enough to make it safe and plausible for an in-person performance.

This work is dedicated to the romance surrounding the madcap and meditative 'all night' concerts of Terry Riley and my love for John Luther Adams' site-specific sound installation, "The Place Where You Go to Listen."

I sought to write a piece that would be unique for every performance, and not just through improvisatory means, but unique because it was being done on that day of the year and at a particular place. As the weeks and seasons change so too shifts the musical materials of the piece itself. And so here we have music that lasts all night, given the place and time of year it was done; and could last twelve hours or merely one.

I see the ideal concert space as a relatively still outdoor setting (or viewable to the outdoors) where the changing light and stars could be readily observed. Listeners should be made comfortable (close to the piano if they wish) with the ability to lay down if desired, pillows and blankets encouraged; allowed to relax and focus in whatever way they need.

The music itself responds to the specific place and specific time as it is being performed and it is my hope that listeners will allow themselves to be present and connected to the ever-changing rhythms of daylight and darkness, seasonality and transition.