“Departure,” is inspired by Vladimir Kush’s Departure of the Winged Ship. This piece of oil on canvas was completed in 2000. It depicts a large ship going out to sea with three large masts. Upon these masts are not sails, but rather large butterflies with colorful wings. Kush is described to be a surrealist, often fusing animals and allegory with subjects such as horns, ships, shoes, needles, much more. His unique process of combining these ideas often creates a layered effect to each piece, requiring the viewer to spend more than a moment to capture all of the message, or messages of the piece.
“Departure,” is meant to capture some of that layering, consisting of three major parts. The first represents the normal boat- part of the ship, establishing grand swells, paired with the knocking of the ship. The second part is to represent fantasy, the flourishing butterfly wings, and the wind they flow in. Harmonics and pizzicato are especially used for this. The third and final part represents the synthesis of these two ideas, normal and abnormal. Motifs from each are displayed while also utilizing techniques of both also making another appearance. With this synthesis, we celebrate Kush’s reality in fantasy.

Performers:
violin I, Taeyoung Yun
violin II, Aarón González
viola, Emma Wood
cello, Madeline Dykhouse

Departure

There is a certain kind of daylight that when it hits a hardwood floor, it bounces off in reflection. The process of reflection in our mind produces interpretations of the events in the world around us. As humans, this is part of our condition. When faced with moments deemed “uncertain,” we grow within ourselves to face the challenges of each day. This is thanks in part to the ability of reflection in our minds. The Hardwood Variations are formed out of celebration for this ability we possess, as well as the choices we can make as we go forward.

conductor, Eunbae Jeon
piano, Kristen Scioneaux
LSU A Cappella Choir

Hardwood Variations

Many times as we travel, we encounter large empty places during our time of transition. These places often are designed to hold many people despite holding few or none at the moment. This sense of eeriness is represented in this solo performance. Even though the performer is alone, this piece is also a duet between the performer and the room. This interaction between these two elements symbolizes our very own experience in a liminal space.

viola, Emma Wood

Liminal Spaces

When riding Space Mountain with the lights on, one may see the mechanizations and structure of the roller coaster they currently ride. One may find a similar experience in a deeper conversation with a peer. We still are riding our life’s roller coaster but we are allowed a moment of reflection and clarity in having established solidarity with another person. The melody and make-up of this piece were determined by journal entries contemplating a number of these deeper conversations. The length of each word describes a tone to be used as well as other elements to the interpretation. This make-up is then applied to a structure that is centered on actual elements of the Space Mountain roller-coaster such as the Blue Tunnel or Launch sequence.

Performed by:
clarinet, Javier Elizondo

Riding Space Mountain With The Lights On (Excerpt)

On the banks of the river Nile, crocodiles rest in the sun with their mouths open. Egyptian Plover birds fly into the mouths of these crocodiles not to be eaten, but rather to receive a meal of their own. Egyptian Plovers are the dentists of the crocodiles as a result of this symbiosis. This piece is based on this relationship in the style of cartoon. Like many of us, Mr. Crocodile dreads going to the dentist. He also dreams of having a Hollywood smile as he sees in the movies. Listeners may hear Richard A. Whiting’s “Hooray For Hollywood,” sparkling throughout Mr. Crocodile’s dreams. This cartoon’s animator is the composer’s sister, Sarah Ellzey. 

Performers:
oboe, Tori Conner
clarinet, Lukas Dorcy
bassoon, Andrew Bray
percussion I, Samuel Bang
percussion II, Timothy Marquess
cello, Madeline Dykhouse

The Crocodile And His Dentist

Redshift 
Premiered- 
Wednesday, June 16, 2021
The Walden School Creative Musicians Retreat
Dublin, New Hampshire

Performers-
Peter Evans, trumpet
Mazz Swift, violin
David Friend, piano

Video and Audio Recording and Production-
Jacob Sachs-Mishalanie
Alex Christie

Redshift (Program Notes)
This piece is a compositional study on proportion and development and their relationship to abstract subjects of contemplation. The first subject is the behavior of light and how it moves through space over time, to then be perceived by humans. The second subject is the observations of interpersonal interactions between peers and family, and how over time these relationships change as essentially, the universe expands.

The astrophysical phenomenon known as "redshift" refers to the way light travels from distant galaxies, leading us to believe that the universe is expanding. Redshift is measured from light as it travels from the celestial body emitting it to our sensors here within our sphere of human technology. As light travels, more energy is used to cross great amounts of space. As a result, the perceivable color of this light has shifted to the red end of the spectrum over time.

Redshift

Contemporary Composer based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Jake A. Ellzey

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