Trio for Viola, Cello, and Piano

I. Learning to Float (00:00)*
II. (I am in) The Movement Around Me (01:45)*
III. The Freedom of Beyond (03:27)*

*Timecode corresponds with audio recording above.

Audio: Studio recording, Viola: Drew Ricciardi. Cello: Joshua Nakazawa. Piano: Hee-Young Chae. Audio Engineer: Futura Productions.


Category: Chamber

Year Composed: 2012

Instrumentation: Viola, cello, piano

Duration: 6 minutes

Program Note

Premiere: Contemporary Chamber Music Ensemble Concert. Berklee College of Music (Boston, MA) – 2020.

Additional Performances: Berklee Composition Department Awards Concert (cancelled due to COVID-19) – 2020.

Awards: ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award, Finalist (2020).

When I composed Trio for Viola, Cello, and Piano, I was just beginning to explore interactions between instruments. Written between 2011 and 2012, this was one of my first works to consider counterpoint and develop a dialogue between and within each of the musical voices. Trio was one of my first pieces for a chamber ensemble, as well. This composition was a learning tool for me; I was guided by my process of discovering each instrument, my own creative intuition, and a desire to experiment with and create interactions between each of the instruments.

Throughout the composition, motifs are developed, and echoed – sometimes in a solo voice, sometimes by several voices – creating a musical conversation. Upon reflection and after revising it in 2017, I consider Trio for Viola, Cello, and Piano to be a very formative composition, and still one of my strongest works.

Trio for Viola, Cello, and Piano

I. Learning to Float (00:00)*
II. (I am in) The Movement Around Me (01:45)*
III. The Freedom of Beyond (03:27)*

*Timecode corresponds with audio recording above.

Audio: Studio recording, Viola: Drew Ricciardi. Cello: Joshua Nakazawa. Piano: Hee-Young Chae. Audio Engineer: Futura Productions.


Category: Chamber

Year Composed: 2012

Instrumentation: viola, cello, piano

Duration: 6 minutes

Premiere: Contemporary Chamber Music Ensemble Concert. Berklee College of Music (Boston, MA) – 2020.

Additional Performances: Berklee Composition Department Awards Concert (cancelled due to COVID-19) – 2020.

Awards: ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award, Finalist (2020).


Program Note

When I composed Trio for Viola, Cello, and Piano, I was just beginning to explore interactions between instruments. Written between 2011 and 2012, this was one of my first works to consider counterpoint and develop a dialogue between and within each of the musical voices. Trio was one of my first pieces for a chamber ensemble, as well. This composition was a learning tool for me; I was guided by my process of discovering each instrument, my own creative intuition, and a desire to experiment with and create interactions between each of the instruments. Throughout the composition, motifs are developed, and echoed – sometimes in a solo voice, sometimes by several voices – creating a musical conversation. Upon reflection and after revising it in 2017, I consider Trio for Viola, Cello, and Piano to be a very formative composition, and still one of my strongest works.