Pilas are public spaces in rural Central America where people go to wash clothes and socialize together. Significant relationships are built here, thus making pilas an important location in their community. Sandra Tirey and Jan van Lohuizen’s newly built home, dubbed “Geezerville”, reflects the ancient roots of pilas in a modern way, through their creation of mutual spaces to be shared with their neighbors. In the same way that their home will become the central meeting space for their community, LAS PILAS combines several ideas that coalesce in the end to form a unified whole in celebration of Geezerville’s birth.

LAS PILAS was commissioned by Sandra Tirey and Jan van Lohuizen and premiered by MUSIQA.

Las Pilas (2013) - string trio

The innovative and highly energetic music of Rob Smith is frequently performed throughout the United States and abroad. He is an Associate Professor of Music Composition and director of the AURA Contemporary Ensemble at the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music.  Boosey & Hawkes, Carl Fischer, Southern Music, C-Alan Publications, and Skitter Music Publications publish his music.

Las Pilas (2013) - string trio

Rob Smith, composer