Second Suite for Strings was composed during the winter of 2022-2023 as a follow-up and companion to my Suite for Strings composed in 2021-2022. It is set in three movements of contrasting character. 
I. Scherzo - This movement is quirky and fun, contrasting lopsided pizzicato waltz patterns with a Coplandesque main theme.
II. Passacaglia looks to the past with a somber ground bass, over which the higher strings rise with increasing urgency to an emotional climax at the end.
III. Finale - The third movement is the longest and most complex of the three. It contrasts an urgent, driving main motive with a central section of soaring grandeur. Along the way, it explores moments of layered ostinato patterns that combine to form a complex texture.

Second Suite for Strings

III. Finale

II. Passacaglia

I. Scherzo

PhD in Music Composition from the University of Utah. Currently serving as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the music theory area at the University of Utah School of Music, an Adjunct Instructor of Humanities and music theory Utah Valley University, and a theory faculty member at the Gifted Music School in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Second Suite for Strings

Matthew R. Durrant