Instrumentation: clarinet, English horn, and piano
Score Example: Trees Dream of Dancing
Duration: 10:45
Commissioned by Duo del Sol (Karen Dannessa, Henry Grabb)
Premiered at by Karen Dannessa, Henry Grabb, and Carl Crammer at Weill Recital Hall – Carnegie Hall; June 14, 2003
Version for clarinet, alto saxophone, and piano premiered November 2, 2014 by Caitlin Long, Carolyn J. Bryan, and Karla Rocker at Georgia Southern University.
Recording: W. James Jones, Amy Goeser Kolb, and JuleAnn Troutman, piano; Wichita State University 14th Contemporary Music Festival; April 6, 2004. Used by permission.
Notes: The initial spark for the piece was an email conversation Karen and I had about the redwood forests of Northern California after she had performed my clarinet and piano piece, Aria of the Evening Sky, at Humboldt State University, my first alma mater. I like to use nature imagery in my music, so the thought of great trees, rooted to the ground but dreaming of dancing intrigued me. The piece is in an ABA form, moving through images of night and dreaming to the dance and then a return to the opening material as the dream recedes.
Katherine Ann Murdock 