[Moriah] Hill Country Sketches

Today, I had the privilege to play with the Austin Flute Choir in a world premiere performance of "Hill Country Sketches." The work was commissioned specifically for the Austin Flute Choir by composer Catherine McMichael.



A few years ago, our flute choir director, Penny, asked Catherine if she would be willing to compose a piece for the Austin Flute Choir. She agreed, and ended up coming to Austin to get a feel for the city and what kind of character she'd like to give the piece.



Here in the "hill country," as locals call it, there are some prominent themes portrayed. The three Catherine chose to write about in her piece were: the bluebonnets, which bloom all over the city in spring; the bats, which live under the Lake Travis bridge from March until October and fly out from underneath it every evening at dusk to go on their nightly hunt; and the strong Mexican influence in the city, from the food to the dancing.



Combining these themes, Catherine produced three movements for the piece. The first movement, titled "Lago de los Lupinos" (Lake of the Bluebonnets), was a beautifully intricate and graceful piece made to encompass the beauty of the bluebonnets themselves. The second movement, titled "El Vuelo de las Murciélagos" (The Flight of the Bats), was meant to make you feel as though you were one of the bats, sleepily coming out from your afternoon hiding place and preparing to soar through the sky with excitement. The third movement, "Fiesta de las Flautas" (Festival of Flutes), was meant to capture the Mexican influence, including a small percussion section and a dance-in-your-seat beat using tango and merengue styles that prevented you from keeping still.



I had a blast playing this wonderfully composed work and look forward to many more opportunities like this in the future. Ahh, the supreme joy of performing again...