Stromateis

Stromateis can be translated variously from Greek as layers, miscellany, patchwork, or quilt. I embarked on this work for violinist Sophia Szokolay in response to a prompt she had provided for her forthcoming debut album, which included a description of a “quest for a sense of ‘home’ in the midst of dissonance.” Sophia invited the composers participating in this project to reflect on their own journeys and the places that have shaped them. In doing so, I meditated on my musical journeys and the far-flung locales to which they have brought me. These include the Penobscot Bay in Maine; North Carolina, where I spent five years in graduate school; Paris, where I spent a formative semester studying in college; Bavaria; the Gulf Coast of Florida; the Rocky Mountains; and many other destinations. While reflecting on the privilege of this musical life, I decided to construct a piece from material of my past works, which had been composed in these various places. It includes ideas that I liked, which were perhaps not developed in as much detail as they are here or ones that had particular significance for me. The opening, for example, develops the second theme of a short work, Study for Remembrance, which I had written during the Pandemic for cellist Mickey Katz. Stromateis is thus a miscellany, a patchwork of ideas old and new. It begins in a consonant harmonic language, which moves into crunchier territory in the middle, and then emerges with a slightly new perspective. Ultimately, I realized that my music is one of the many “homes,” to which I enjoy returning.  Stromateis is dedicated to Sophia Szokolay in gratitude for the wonderful collaboration we have shared during her doctoral studies at New England Conservatory.