A string quartet written for the 2022 Denver Botanic Garden's Landline Residency which examines seven natural features found in Colorado.

Performed by: The Playground Ensemble String Quartet
Recorded by: Mighty Fine Productions

Shades of Colorado

It is a lively beast, darting out from its perch in the top of oaks at the slightest provocation. 
- J. A. Allen

The first movement of Shades of Colorado, a string quartet written for the 2022 Denver Botanic Garden's Landline Residency.  

Based on the Colorado state insect, the Colorado Hairstreak Butterfly, who spends its entire life upon a single Gambel Oak.  The viola and cello act as the tree with the violins as territorial butterflies who battle each other, spiraling upward.

Performed by: The Playground Ensemble String Quartet
Recorded by: Mighty Fine Productions

I. A Life In Place

Within moments, the eeriness gives way to terror as the locusts begin to descent on the family’s homestead.
- Jeffrey A. Lockwood describing Laura Ingalls Wilder

The second movement of Shades of Colorado, a string quartet written for the 2022 Denver Botanic Garden's Landline Residency.

Using Jeffrey A. Lockwood’s Locust as a guide, this improvised movement also has a structure of a book with 9 chapters.  Each chapter has inspiration from a separate stage of infestation that roams from the clouds of locusts drawing near, the panic and fear with the realization of the locust, and the despair of watching the feeding frenzy that follows.  It ends with the question of the legacy of the locust and the possibility that what was devastation for the new settlers on the frames was also catastrophic for the health of the Great Plains.

Performed by: The Playground Ensemble String Quartet
Recorded by: Mighty Fine Productions

II. Dark Clouds

The third movement of Shades of Colorado, a string quartet written for the 2022 Denver Botanic Garden's Landline Residency.  

The Colorado River Compact established in 1922 was based in a miscalculation of the average water flow divided the water to 7 states and Mexico.  Each instrument takes the role and percentage of two of its dividends and is taken away.  The Colorado River has been listed multiple times in the “10 Most Endangered Rivers” List and at the time of writing the movement, no longer reached the end of its path, the Gulf of California. 

Performed by: The Playground Ensemble String Quartet
Recorded by: Mighty Fine Productions

III. A River At The Edge Of Extinction

Live in the twilight between life and death…
- Thomas Pakenham

The fifth movement of Shades of Colorado, a string quartet written for the 2022 Denver Botanic Garden's Landline Residency.  

Based on the Bristlecone Pine, one of the oldest trees in the world with the oldest in Colorado being roughly 2,500 years. They live in one of the most extreme environments in the world, battling against constant wind and weather. The oldest trees are mostly dead but are sustained by a single strip of bark from roots to branch. This movement places the patient song of the tree in the face of endless wind. 

Performed by: The Playground Ensemble String Quartet
Recorded by: Mighty Fine Productions

V. In Defiance Of Wind

The fourth movement of Shades of Colorado, a string quartet written for the 2022 Denver Botanic Garden's Landline Residency.

The Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project is dedicated to the preservation and continuation of Colorado’s Heritage Apples.  Of the over 500 varietals available in 1922, 196, less than 50 percent, remain in the state. This movement celebrates, and lists, those 196 varietals.

Performed by: The Playground Ensemble String Quartet
Recorded by: Mighty Fine Productions

IV. 196 Flavors

Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Anna K, Aaron Keyt, Neal Kosály-Meyer, September 12, 1998

Banned Rehearsal 507 980912

arrangement of titular tune as found in an 1846 shape note song book 

111 Chard 250817 [250817]

performed on an old pump organ in a ranch house in Avon, Montana, July 17, 1988

Serenade (Avon 880717) 880711 master

arrangement of the titular tune as found in an 1846 shape note song book

112 Gaulos 250824 [250824)

Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Anna K, Haley K, Steve Kennedy, Neal Kosály-Meyer, August 25, 2025

Banned Rehearsal 1132 250825

World Premiered by Katherine Cheng	(violin) and Jeongmin Oak (piano) Kilbourn	Hall,	Eastman	School of Music Rochester,	NY | 
Friday, November	22,	2024

Program Notes:

“Tea with Debussy & Pärt in Casablanca” is a musical dream born from a vacation in Havana, Cuba. This piece imagines an encounter with the esteemed composers Arvo Pärt and Claude Debussy in the vibrant city of Casablanca, over Moroccan tea. It is not an imitation of their styles but rather a heartfelt conversation between us, infused with elements of both composers’ musical languages. Originally commissioned by Vincent Delorme for viola and piano, the piece was premiered in Montreal. The clarinet version, performed by double Grammy-nominated clarinetist Tasha Warren and pianist Yun Hao, premiered at the Mostly Modern Festival in Saratoga Springs, NY, in June 2024. Katherine Cheng, inspired by both the clarinet version and her experience performing in the sextet premiere of the first movement of my Suite “Moroccan Dances,” felt a strong connection to my compositional style. Her expressive playing and nuanced interpretation are well-suited to the music’s blend of minimalist and impressionistic elements. Katherine’s excitement about this collaboration led to the creation of this violin and piano version, marking the beginning of our artistic partnership. The piece begins with minimalist touches, a nod to Pärt’s recent works, where the piano introduces serene arpeggios that intertwine with expressive violin melodies. As the music progresses, it incorporates Debussy’s harmonic richness, weaving a tapestry of sound that captures the essence of typical Moroccan conversations—dynamic, lively, and filled with unexpected turns.

Tea with Debussy and Pärt in Casablanca for Violin and Piano - World Premiere

crickets or cicadas and frogs in Red Hook, NY, September 1, 1983

Crickets 830901

113 Brattle Street 250831 [250831]

Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Anna K, Aaron Keyt , Neal Kosály-Meyer; September 26, 1998

Banned Rehearsal 509 980926

Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Anna K, Aaron Keyt, Neal Kosály-Meyer, October 3, 1998

Banned Rehearsal 510 981003

Also known as George. A Montana-born freelance composer and teacher; gardener and reader; thinker and walker. 

Photo Credit: Sonya Harris

III. A River At The Edge Of Extinction

Jessi Harvey

Related tracks