Multi-Movement Pieces

Our Nature Score

“Our Nature” is a 2 part multimovement piece inspired by the various locations surrounding UCSB Campus. This piece came from a course I took in 2024 where were asked to observe the nature at our university. During these exhibitions we would journal about the various sounds, textures, smells, and sights we noticed while outside. After a few weeks of outdoor observations we were tasked with writing a multimovement using these notes as a form of inspiration.

The first movement “Waves of Emotion”, came to fruition after my various ocean inspired observations. I wanted to capture the steady pulse heard in the waves as they broke against the sandy banks of campus.  The slow and steady piano opening followed by the high pitched drones of the recorder are meant to emulate that source of anxiety emitted by such an unpredictably powerful body of water. Like the ocean however, this movement isn’t pure force but has moments of rest and of calm. Increasing tempo, omitting certain instruments, and playing around with harmonics are all ways I wanted to demstrate the flow and beauty of the ocean.

The second movement “Calculated Steps” was inspired by the time I spent in a labrynth on one of our exhibitions. Without thinking of anything else we simply were asked to weave through the labrynth and just observe. The steady pulse of my footsteps paired with the high pitched vocals of singing birds were what lead to the creation of this movement. Using the strings for footsteps and the recorder as a bird song my goal was to immerse the listener into that same trance like state I was in during that day of our exhibition.

Movement 1

Movement 2

Movement 3

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