Yough (pronounced "yuke") for bass clarinet, violin, and piano
Composed 2021 for the 2021 Etchings Festival and the East Coast Contemporary Ensemble
Barret Ham, bass clarinet | Natalie Boberg, violin | Geoffrey Burleson, piano
Movements: I. The Youghiogheny Gorge | II. The Falls/High Bridge | III. Lower Yough

Program Notes:
In May 2021, at the conclusion of my doctoral residency, my father and I biked the Great Allegheny Passage which stretches 150 miles from Cumberland, MD to Pittsburgh, PA. The sensational trail is quickly gaining notoriety as one of the best maintained, most scenic, and overall finest long-distance bike trails worldwide, and our own excursion underwrote that point in our minds. Gorgeous overlooks, bridges of significant length and height, a creative urban link in Pittsburgh, and a general smoothness and ability for speed seared the landscapes and our passage to permanent memory.
For me, foremost in that memory is the travel through Pennsylvania’s Ohiopyle state park, known to most as the place of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater and for the Youghiogheny River, which in Ohiopyle contains the most trafficked whitewater east of the Mississippi. The gorge, towering and monolithic, looms on both sides of the river as the GAP pushes deeper inward. The town of Ohiopyle, harboring stations for the old B&O and Western Maryland railroads, sits at the place of the Falls, a spectacular Class IV waterfall that drops 18ft only to be followed by an even more dramatic 180° “Loop” that drops such significant elevation that the high bridge soars above the river only a mile outside town. From here, the Lower Yough’s whitewater has gained fame and prestige for its approachable yet still challenging Class III rapids over a 7.5 mile stretch in the continued gorge of unparalled beauty. Biking along the western rim, flying downhill over 18 miles to Connellsville, is an indescribable joy.
Yough, then, celebrates this passage. Strong, aggressive gestures reminiscent of the rock that punches through the water appear throughout, with the central movement for solo piano a personal remembering of the beauty in the Falls and the serenity of the gorge’s deep interior. The final movement, tracing a familiar landscape, becomes ever more dramatic as we power forward to the calm waters beyond the gorge’s rapid fury.
July 10 2021

Yough for bass clarinet, violin, and piano

Which Way the Water for bass clarinet, violin, and piano
Composed 2021 for Duo Sonation (Jessica Schury, flute and Evan Tegley, oboe) with William Davidson

Program Notes:
Which Way the Water was composed in the last months of 2021. Water, often in the form of rivers or functional waterways, was unintentionally a primary inspiration for my music throughout the year, manifesting in the works Of the Lower Patapsco about the Patapsco River along the Baltimore waterfront, Yough which detailed a bike trip along Pennsylvania’s Youghiogheny River through Ohiopyle State Park, and an expansion of the violin/piano piece Seabird, situated on the beach of Ocean City, Maryland. The deeper meaning of this inspiration may surface in later years with the benefit of hindsight, but at present this work feels a symbiosis of the year’s reflections and concerns, representing increased attentions on narrative, harmony, texture, and cohesive balance. Water manifests logic and/or irrationality depending on its context, influencing the flow of a creek at will or the flow of nature by drying up where it is needed most. Perhaps our base need for water is a force in our creativity, representing an interest in innocuous innocence or a primeval pressing for purity. Whichever way it flows, I find myself drawn to water, and its presence in my music is welcome.
January 4 2022

Which Way the Water for flute, oboe, and piano

Seabird for violin and piano
Recorded by Eric Mrugala and Eunjin Lee at The Record Co., Boston, MA

Movements:
I. Wingspan
II. Pecking Order
III. Dialogue
IV. The Lifting Air
V. On the Wing
VI. Seabird

Program Notes:
Seabird is inspired by the graceful and sometimes odd movements of seagulls on the beach of Ocean City, Maryland. Though not ranking on the subjective “creatures of exceptional brilliance” scale, seagulls have one advantage to the rest of the animal kingdom, namely in their understanding of aerodynamics. Whenever a scrap of food appears, perhaps by a generous beachgoer handing out bread (I tried this with orange peels – they didn’t like those, though), the flock will swarm the location in a matter of seconds from all directions. Given that wind is not omnidirectional this feat deserves some recognition. In this the humble seagull serves as an emblem, a symbol of the beach’s effect on us as humans. We seek the beach for rest and relaxation, and for the opportunity the waves and sand present for play. Time often slows on the beach, left to the influence of wind and sea. As a strong evoker of memory, and of place, a dissection of the seagull as a symbol became strong inspiration for music.

The first five movements are miniatures, focused on a core idea or gesture evoking an element of a seagull on the beach, dissecting his motion and physique. The last movement synthesizes these distinct elements into a cohesive image, evocative of lounging in a beach chair surrounded by wind, salt, sand, and sea. Ideas and motives swirl around throughout, transforming and growing as they wish, moving to new territory with a simple change of the wind. Remember too that this is the beach, so there’s no rush here – the unpredictable whim of the birds, the ethos of rest and good cheer the beach evokes in us, and a strong sense of space, breath, warmth, and calm permeate our environment. Seabird was composed for my friends Eric Mrugala (violin) and Eunjin Lee (piano).
August 24, 2021

Seabird for violin and piano

Asteroid for piano
performed by Micheal Delfin
10/28/2022, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music

Asteroid for piano

Composed 2023 for Micheal Barnes

Program Notes:
This entire piece is built to specifically mimic the lengths and contours of the waterfalls found in Ganoga Glen within Rickett’s Glen State Park, Pennsylvania. Between the two glens of Kitchen Creek, Ganoga Glen and sister Glen Leigh, I feel the Ganoga side is noticeably more dramatic. On average, the waterfalls are taller, more water flows through it, and the sheer quantity of large falls on that side border on overwhelming. This is especially felt while ascending Ganoga Glen, where six falls over 35 feet, including the behemoth Ganoga at 94’, tower over the path amongst other relatively smaller falls. The epic grandeur and constantly cool temperature are enough to make this trip a vital experience, but to witness the glen in full glory during the spring wet season is transcendental.
Ganoga, then, builds its structure around the height in feet of all 10 named waterfalls in Ganoga Glen from top to bottom – Mohawk, Oneida, Cayuga, Ganoga, Seneca, Delaware, Mohican, Conestoga, Tuscarora, and Erie. Harmonic centers shift in approximate time to both the length of its fall and the first letter of the fall’s name, serendipitously giving rise to a referential structure that drifts in and out of E that accentuatues the beauty and drama of the structure our natural world has suggested. It is my hope that this musical realization of Ganoga Glen’s beautiful architecture does justice to an area that often leaves me without words.

May 9 2023

Picture - World Waterfall Database

Ganoga for vibraphone and piano

Composed 2018
for clarinet/bass clarinet, violin, and percussion
performed by F-Plus: Andy Hudson, clarinets | Kate Dreyfuss, violin | Josh Graham, percussion

Movements:
I. Double Arches I
II. Courthouse Rock
III. Haystack Rock
IV. Auxier Ridge
V. Double Arches II

Program Notes:
	I’m an avid hiker. Growing up in Central Pennsylvania provided myriad opportunities for marvelous hiking all over the state, and compositionally these places, and getting to them, served as moments of deep inspiration and perspective. When I moved to Cincinnati, I correctly feared I would have to travel farther just to get into the mountains, much less hike up and down them, which led to a natural exploration of the Eastern Appalachian hills of Kentucky, including the oft-mentioned and famous Red River Gorge due east of Lexington. The Gorge, upon first visit, provided the first mountainous destination outside of PA I so longed for after my move, and the area did not disappoint. What struck me about the place are the remarkable sandstone features that dot the landscape, massive slabs of rock pushed to amazing heights by natural forces over millions of years. The beauty of sandstone is its remarkable resistance of erosion – soil will slowly wash away over time, but the rock is unaffected. Weak points in the rock create pockets where wind and water can slowly make inroads, and eventually come out the other side. Due to the rock’s strength, these weak points are isolated, and the surrounding rock remains unaffected, creating stunning arches and other beautiful formations.
Suspended Sandstones features a few remarkable landmarks in the Gorge that seem almost placed by a very powerful hand. We begin in Double Arches, where two different sandstone arches are stacked inside a hole in the face of a huge sandstone ridge, and both sides of the ridge are visible from this literal “hole in the wall.” From here looms Courthouse Rock, a massive apparition at the edge of Auxier Ridge on the opposite side of the branch, where one can imagine an otherworldy presence residing over the place. Haystack Rock stands in front of Auxier, a half mile south of the Courthouse, and features a single formation of rock that’s been eroded into a smaller boulder on top of but still connected to a larger boulder beneath. Auxier Ridge as a whole is also considered, forming a parallel with the Double Arch Ridge on the other side of the branch. We finish again in Double Arches, this time focused on the commanding view we receive of all the landmarks referenced in this set of snapshots.
Suspended Sandstones was written with gratitude for the F-Plus ensemble in the Fall of 2018.

Suspended Sandstones - 5 Snapshots of Red River Gorge

Composed 2018
Performed by:
Jenny Lehtonen, flute
Yo Shionoya and Patrick Grimone, oboes
Daniel Outlaw, english horn
Andrew Compton and Rachael Hendricks, clarinets
Alexandra Doyle, bass clarinet
Andi Bragiel, bassoon
Rob Stull, conductor

Program Notes:
Joy and Euphoria is a deeply personal work, and functions as the third movement of my also deeply personal chamber orchestra work Axis Mundi. The idea of “happiness” is as complicated as it needs to be for each individual. Some spend their entire lives searching for this feeling of satisfaction, perhaps finding it, perhaps not. In the arts, this search for meaning often serves as the underlying motive for a character’s “journey of the self.” Popular movies and TV shows like BoJack Horseman, Californication, and countless others perpetuate this supposed need to be completely, utterly satisfied in all aspects of life, when in reality this is a hopeless attempt. In my limited experience (as of this writing), my attempts to find total satisfaction, or “pure happiness” led to the ignorance of issues in my life that only perpetuated the need to find said happiness. In fact, satisfaction comes from progress, the comfort of knowing that the need to be content drives us to continually evaluate ourselves, our actions, and our motives. If we move forward, and continually develop and grow into our surroundings to actualize our inner selves, then I suggest this is how we find true joy, and true euphoria. This work explores these concepts through musical terms, through constant development and transformation of motives to create a path towards joy, that learns from the past but refuses to return, finding satisfaction in the arrival.

Joy and Euphoria for woodwind octet

Composed 2018
performed by Carly Barnes, flute/piccolo and Micheal Barnes, percussion
Recording engineer, mixing, mastering, and production: Shawn Milloway

Movements:
I. Ridge and Valley (US Route 15 - Future I-99)
II. Laurels and Runs (Pine Creek Gorge)

Program Notes:
Mountain Streams is a reflection of my experiences traveling to and hiking in Pine Creek Gorge, otherwise known as the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania. Situated about 10 miles southwest of Wellsboro in northern PA, the canyon is a major geological feature of the region, the creek flowing through the endless ridge and valley Appalachians characteristic of northern PA into the West Branch Susquehanna River west of Williamsport, which joins the main branch in Northumberland. Colton Point and Leonard Harrison State Parks are situated on the west and east rims respectively, offering drive-up views of the canyon. This is the easy way in – to physically earn those views, I hiked the West Rim Trail, which follows 28 miles of the canyon’s western rim from Rattlesnake Rocks through Colton Point and into Ansonia. These 28 miles offer splendid campsites, innumerable stream and run crossings, and armfuls of mountain laurel which threaten to overtake the path. By PA state law, mountain laurel cannot be removed or trimmed, and over multiple sections of trail the laurel dominates the surrounding ground. Whether witnessing the gorge by car or foot, however, the canyon is simply breathtaking – and in the fall when the leaves have shifted color, the canyon becomes downright spiritual in its beauty.
The first movement, “Ridge and Valley,” begins our exploration via the stunning drive into the Wellsboro region. The gorge may be the destination, but the path through the Appalachians to get there is incredible – and fearful – on its own. North of Harrisburg US Route 15 takes us along the Susquehanna to the junction point with the West Branch, continuing north to Williamsport and then north to the border with New York state, that last stretch soon to become part of I-99. This highway north of Williamsport is especially mesmerizing in its bold, rugged cut through the impressive ridges of the region, an essential artery for economic development in the area that required the blasting of rock millions of years old from mountains that have stood stoically since Pangaea. The flute traces this winding freeway, restless in melodic contour and rhythmic activity while the percussion vocalizes the power of this natural landscape, with massive boulders, formidable rock walls, towering tree-lined ridges, and steep valley drop-offs making their presence heard and felt. We can find beauty in both natural world and human development, as the force required to build both mountain and freeway is impressive in its own right and worth celebrating.
“Laurels and Runs” then brings us onto the West Rim of Pine Creek Gorge. Ridges full of mountain laurel conflict and guard over the valleys cut by the runs which feed the creek with water, our path constantly dipping in and out to blaze our northward progress. I feel a relative parallel in function here – the large ridge and valley mountains and our freeways through them, are they not as valid as the laurel and water-filled runs of the gorge and the path through them? Are we not just like the water, coursing through the surrounding hills to reach our destination, following their guidance and paths of least resistance? Perhaps the coursing, via streams of water or concrete, are themselves as significant as our destination, if not more so.
Mountain Streams was composed in the summer of 2018 for two of my favorite collaborators, the power duo of Carly (flute) and Micheal (perc.) Barnes, who premiered the piece in October of that year in Cincinnati, OH. 
July 26 2020

Mountain Streams for flute/piccolo and percussion

Composed 2019
Commissioned by Andrew Compton
First movement (excerpt of two movement full work)

Instrumentation:
    reed quintet: oboe | clarinet in Bb | soprano sax | bass clarinet | bassoon
    two percussionists, playing: vibraphone, glockenspiel, crotales, 5 triangles

Cumberland Pilgrimage for reed quintet and percussion: I. Appalachian Sunrise

Composed 2019
Premiered at the 2019 Fresh Inc Festival and the Golden Rondelle Theatre, Racine, WI
Performed by:
    Grace Hong, oboe
    Elia Foster, clarinet
    Darwin McMurray, alto and tenor saxophones
    Luke Ellard, bass clarinet and clarinet
    Ben Roidl-Ward, bassoon

Program Notes:
    Chesapeake Clementine was the last work I completed as a master’s student at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, and inevitably fostered reflection on personal identity and musical growth over the course of the 2-year degree program. I approached composition from a “music for use” standpoint a la Paul Hindemith at the beginning of the degree, and quickly realized I had no personal or emotional connection to my work. Two years having passed, and many personal hurdles overcome, my works, including this present piece, are now intense, highly charactered, and charged rhythmically and especially contrapuntally.
    Added to this recognition of a new found identity is a response to an artistic work from my sister Colleen Harkins, a work which features a prominent segmented clementine in the center.* Surveying the work, one experiences a numerous array of diversions to other fruits, lines, and points of interest, and my piece takes these inspirations as a point of departure for musical exploration and excitement. Add to this the following image: imagine this juicy segmented clementine rolled and drenched in Old Bay seasoning. This, in the abstract, is the essence of what my work is becoming, and what I am fast becoming about.
Chesapeake Clementine was commissioned and made possible by the Steven R. Gerber Trust for the 2019 Fresh Inc Festival and premiered at the festival in June of 2019.    - May 1 2019

Links:
https://www.josephfosterharkins.com/chesapeake-clementine
https://www.colleenharkinsart.com/

Chesapeake Clementine for reed quintet

Performed by Mikey Arbulu
Recorded for the compilation disc POLYCHROME on Centaur Records (catalog #3717)
Movements:
I. Taiga Caravan
II. Tundra
III. Taiga Caravan (reprise)

Program Notes:
Northern Canada and Russia consist of two primary bands of ecological significance before the icy Arctic circle - the Taiga Belt, and the Tundra. The tundra of course is familiar enough - not much grows or lives in this region due to extremes in climate and temperature. However what does grow, moss and small ferns and the like, covers most of the ground, and crunches when trampled. The place is empty, mostly barren, and with few exceptions, is practically uninhabitable to fauna. The Taiga belt, by comparison, is dominated by untouched coniferous trees and diverse types of animal life such as bears and foxes. The trees are so plentiful, in fact, that over half of Earth's evergreen forests make up this region, which also produces the majority of Earth's oxygen. Also known as Boreal Forest, the Taiga is an immensely important facet of the planet's ecology and sustainability.
Mosaic Tundra is a brief solo excursion through these two regions, moving through a portion of the taiga and into a view of the vast, open tundra. A final view of the taiga closes the work. The term mosaic is used to represent the surprising diversity in these regions, which consist of a primary defining characteristic. The music itself reflects this, consisting of a primary cohesive motif that is varied within its own rigorous constraints.
Mosaic Tundra was composed for clarinetist Mikey Arbulu as part of a recording initiative with colleagues at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

Mosaic Tundra for bass clarinet

Performed at the 2020 RED NOTE New Music Festival by Transient Canvas: Amy Advocat, bass clarinet and Matt Sharrock, marimba

Program Notes:
I knew from the outset that I wanted to play with the ideas of space and proportion after beginning such considerations in my piano piece Asteroid. That work is unequivocally restless and fast-paced, with intense gestures and furious figurational work defining the piece’s overall mood and atmosphere. Yet for me the composition of Asteroid broke new ground towards considering “when does a texture overstay its welcome?” and “what does space feel like in my particularly dense writing style?” These questions are the primary impetus towards this piece, which explores the relationship between sectional length and the density/space argument. We can have our cake and eat it, too – motives and gestures can play within spacious moments, and sections can be “mis-proportional” yet balanced in their completeness and overall feeling, independently and as a whole. The coin may also flip, where minimal textures need not imply a lack of forward motion. Instead, we can determine our own implications. Space is incredibly viscous and flexible, and no handbook or pre-established proportion towards such space will define what this concept means to us in context. Here, in this piece, I believe the answers began to emerge for me.
Space and Proportion was gratefully composed for Amy Advocat and Matt Sharrock as Transient Canvas in the closing months of 2019 and was premiered as part of the 2020 RED NOTE Composition Workshop and New Music Festival at Illinois State University in February 2020.

Space and Proportion for bass clarinet and marimba

Catoctin: III. Cunningham Falls for flute
Composed 2020
Premiere Recording for the 2020 Online Cortona Sessions for New Music: Sarah Brady, flute

Program Notes:
Catoctin is a celebration of Catoctin Mountain Park that lies on the Appalachian Mountain’s front wall just outside Thurmont, Maryland. I visited the park a number of times while living in Baltimore as a way of escaping the city’s lights and sounds and to reconnect with the ancient voices of the old and wise Appalachians. Chimney Rock overlooks the gentle hills leading back to Baltimore and the Chesapeake Bay, and though its height is quite modest the eastward view is commanding and broad. Place’s impact and influence on my thinking and musical work is strong, and as a place Catoctin is rejuvenating through the work of climbing, spiritual in its breadth, and restorative in the elegant flow of its trails and the majestic Cunningham Falls in the park’s interior.
Musically the movements of Catoctin fixate on compact, economical gestural ideas that reveal enormous breadth in their elaboration and repetition. “Climbing” uses the regular breathing of an upward hike as a starting point, growing in scope and effort as it nears the summit. “Chimney Rock,” a compact interlude, contemplates our view, tracing the long horizon across a vast expanse of green farmland. “Cunningham Falls” traces the calm, consistent, winding paths of the park’s interior, building to an apex in front of the Falls, then appreciating and reflecting on its majesty.
September 7 2021

Catoctin: III. Cunningham Falls for flute

Three Mountain Preludes for piano
Composed 2016-2017
James Anemone, piano

Program Notes:
These three preludes comprise the first of my own music that I truly connected to on a spiritual and emotional level. It’s music that felt like it sprung from my own territory, my own experiences, and represented an honest reflection of my inner self. This is also, as of this writing, the music of mine that’s been the most performed in public, continually resonating years after their composition and premiere in West Chester, PA. The three preludes in this set are the slow movements from my Three Piano Sonatinas, written between the summer of 2016 and winter of 2017, and occupy that beautiful space between musical weight and technical approach. If I can play these pieces as an amateur pianist, then so can anyone, and it’s my hope that these pieces can meaningfully contribute to any vibrant home piano catalog as much as they have the concert hall.
A sincere thank you goes to pianist James Anemone for commissioning and championing the 3 sonatinas I’ve composed for him, with a special gratitude for his staggering musicianship and sincere friendship. | September 30 2020

Three Mountain Preludes for piano

Catoctin: II. Chimney Rock for flute
Composed 2020 for Jessica Schury and the 2020 Online Cortona Sessions for New Music
Jessica Schury, flute

Program Notes:
Catoctin is a celebration of Catoctin Mountain Park that lies on the Appalachian Mountain’s front wall just outside Thurmont, Maryland. I visited the park a number of times while living in Baltimore as a way of escaping the city’s lights and sounds and to reconnect with the ancient voices of the old and wise Appalachians. Chimney Rock overlooks the gentle hills leading back to Baltimore and the Chesapeake Bay, and though its height is quite modest the eastward view is commanding and broad. Place’s impact and influence on my thinking and musical work is strong, and as a place Catoctin is rejuvenating through the work of climbing, spiritual in its breadth, and restorative in the elegant flow of its trails and the majestic Cunningham Falls in the park’s interior.
Musically the movements of Catoctin fixate on compact, economical gestural ideas that reveal enormous breadth in their elaboration and repetition. “Climbing” uses the regular breathing of an upward hike as a starting point, growing in scope and effort as it nears the summit. “Chimney Rock,” a compact interlude, contemplates our view, tracing the long horizon across a vast expanse of green farmland. “Cunningham Falls” traces the calm, consistent, winding paths of the park’s interior, building to an apex in front of the Falls, then appreciating and reflecting on its majesty.
September 7 2021

Catoctin: II. Chimney Rock for flute

SCORES for all pieces can be found on my website:
www.josephfosterharkins.com

SHORT BIOGRAPHY:
Joseph Foster Harkins (b. 1995, Harrisburg, PA) writes concert music intimately related to and inspired by water, geographic landmarks, and notable topographic features, especially those from his native state of Pennsylvania. His music harbors influence from rock, jazz, and minimalism of its many forms, and is most often designed for individual performers and small chamber groups. Harkins’ work has been performed and disseminated throughout the American continents, has been recognized by the ASCAP Morton Gould Awards, American Prize, and American Academy of Arts and Letters, and was featured at the Etchings, RED NOTE, and Fresh Inc Festivals and Cortona Sessions. He received his doctorate from the Peabody Institute where he studied with Oscar Bettison and is currently an Elementary Music Teacher for the West Perry School District based in Perry County, PA. He currently resides in Carlisle, PA.

Joseph Foster Harkins

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