Thread

Thread is a five-minute work for solo retuned electric guitar with flute, clarinet, percussion, accordion, violin, and cello. This piece was commissioned by Blueridge Chamber Music for their 2024 festival in Vancouver. This work draws inspiration from the Harold’s Purple Crayon, a 1955 children’s picture book written and illustrated by Crockett Johnson. This book features a child who creates their reality by drawing simple lines and shapes with a purple crayon, taking themselves on an adventure of their own creation. For this piece I have abstracted this concept of creating a reality with unbroken line from drawing into sound. The solo guitar represents the continuous line, a thread that guides the listener throughout the piece. The instruments in the ensemble contextualize this “thread” throughout the piece by shifting the harmonic and metric terrain underfoot.