'in flow'
for violin
First performance April 7, 2006, Tenri, NYC, Andrea Schultz
Darmstadt August 2006, Marco Fusi
California, November 2006, Chris Otto
7' duration
program notes
"in flow” refers to the Flow theory of psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, which maps the ideal performance activity onto an x-y chart relating skill level vs. task difficulty. To stay in flow, one must maintain a balance between the two, even as values of each side increase and/or decrease.
This theory is often cited to help create interesting learning activities for children and adults, and I couldn’t help but wonder how it can be applied to understand how we ‘actively’ listen to music. My composition “in flow” explores gradual shifts in color and expressivity in a constantly moving and evolving musical thread. The music contains an equal emphasis on both long, evolving gestures and the local push-pull of motifs.

This piece was begun in Dar es Salaam last summer, and is written for Andrea Schultz

composed 2005 Dar es Salaam, 2006 Oberlech and NYC
 









“in flow”

one minute excerpt

FLOW SUITE

The Flow Suite is a cycle of five works for violin, viola, and cello. Projected duration is 50 minutes.
The five pieces are
(in concert order)

"in flow" for violin
Shadow Flow for viola
Duo Flow for violin and cello
Moroccan Flow for cello
String Trio

The premise of this cycle is found in the notes for 'in flow' below. From this premise of music 'flow,' each subsequent work deconstructs (and re-formulates) musical continuity.