Commissioned by Lyris Quartet and the HEAR NOW Music Festival for their 10th Anniversary Season
Program note:
I wrote this piece during the end of 2020, a year marked by a global pandemic and social change. Navigating this complex year was especially challenging for parents, and a few people in my life were expecting. As they prepared to become new parents or add to their existing families, I wondered what it felt like to bring new life into a world that suddenly feels so different. As babies have their first experiences, parents are still figuring out their own pandemic world firsts, forced to transform traditional gatherings into socially distanced interactions and cope with changes in employment and safety concerns. And yet despite our uncertain world, these families bring hope and love by preserving the sacred bond between parent and child.
Many thanks to Lyris Quartet and the HEAR NOW Music Festival for commissioning this piece, funded by Ursula C. Krummel. This work is dedicated to them, my cousin Rohini and my dear friends Nick and Maggie, and all brave expecting parents.
Performance video:
Performed by the Lyris Quartet:
Alyssa Park & Shalini Vijayan (violins), Luke Maurer (viola), and Timothy Loo (cello)
Performances:
September 26th, 2021
HEAR NOW Music Festival virtual premiere
Performed by the Lyris Quartet, presented by the HEAR NOW Music Festival (10th Anniversary commission)
Concert streamed online, recorded in Los Angeles, CA
March 21st, 2023
Tuesdays at Monk Space Presents: Nina Shekhar & Friends
Performed by Lyris Quartet
Monk Space, Los Angeles, CA
