Recorded by Hahnsol Kim, violin; KJ McDonald, violin; Jacob Vandersloot, viola; Philip Sheegog, violoncello; Fifi Zhang, piano

Train of Thought was composed for the generous commission by the New York Choreographic Institute at New York City Ballet. I was very fortunate and privileged to be invited as one of the composers to partake in their 2016-17 season. The roots of this piece began germinating by the conversations I had with the Italian choreographer, Fabio Adorisio and the life transitions during the period. 

With a free-flowing, fluid dynamic and a resemblance to through-composed form, the composition was structured mostly around small melodic ideas blossoming in a sporadic manner. As I was on the train getting back to New York City, I had bursts of ideas looking back on some of the memories, that inspired the piece. Scattered ideas and memories creating a train of thought during my train ride back to reality are shown through the loose running structure in the music.

Train of Thought

Performed by the Shepherd School of Music Symphony Orchestra on March 22nd, 2019. Conducted by Ben Manis.

House of Stairs

Wyatt Wear — Saxophone
Sonya Walker — Trumpet
Ben Morris — Piano
Mike Facey — Bass
Michael D'Angelo — Drums

Recorded 12/13/19 at Mighty Fine Studios, engineered by Colin Bricker

Train of Thought

Nicky Sohn

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