Adorn (2025)
Instrumentation: fl, cl, bsn, 2 vln, vla, vc, bass, narrator, live electronics
Duration: 10’
Adorn is an offering, a moment, a stillness, an invitation, a celebration of thanks to the women whose breath flows through me. Moving through moments of ritual, meditation, reverence, and jubilee, Adorn combines theatrical narration, original text, voice recordings from family elders, field recordings, synths, and live electronics, with chamber ensemble in a ritual of adornment, creating and adorning a necklace of charms representing my mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and the women before them. Through this piece it is my hope to not only honor the women who breathe through me, but to remind and encourage us all to remember and honor our ancestors who laid the paths on which we walk. This piece was commissioned for the Harlem Chamber Players by Composers Now as a part of the Cheswatyr Commission program.