Chrysalis (6’)

Program Notes:

I got the idea for this piece when looking through a book about butterflies with my children. I knew that the patterns on butterflies’ wings were beautiful, but I hadn’t realized how caterpillars were covered in stripes, spines, and designs of all kinds, or that chrysalises could look like gems, or delicate leaves. They were all beautiful, and they were all covered in intricate patterns. I knew then that I wanted to use them for a piece of music, so, as is my practice, I notated some of the patterns I found in those images and they became the basis for this piece. I combined these rhythms with the story of the amazing journey of transformation that the caterpillar undergoes during metamorphosis to create the emotional arc of the work.

However, for me the story is just as much a human one of upheaval giving way to something completely different, as it is the story of what goes on before, during, and after the chrysalis.