I. El Niño (5’00”)
II. La Llorona (9’10”)
III. Pacific Electric (5’00”)
Composed 2024 (arrangement of Migrant Rivers: Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra). Duration: 19’10”
Instrumentation
solo piano
originally composed for solo oboe and orchestra
Program Note
When dusty arroyos became rushing torrents, the waterways of the Los Angeles Basin could change course in unexpected ways. At times, the Los Angeles River even flowed west along what is now Wilshire Boulevard into Santa Monica Bay rather than the southerly route to which its concrete channels bind it today.
Migrant Rivers is a love letter to my hometown — a tribute to the millions of people brought here by currents of social upheaval and tragic histories to create this beautifully diverse, ever-changing community nestled between beaches and mountains.
El Niño
Small iterations loop with subtle evolution. Minor distant permutations create complex larger systems, driving winds north and shifting currents east. Yearslong oscillations develop, by turns granting and withholding the rains which sustain life and sculpt the landscape.
La Llorona
Legends tell of the Weeping Woman, a mournful spirit doomed to wander in search of her children, who drowned crossing the river with her as they fled an oppressive life.
Pacific Electric
“Los Angeles is what it is because these folks are what they are. All of these communities are literally of one body, of the healthiest body in America. The red corpuscles that race to the end of every farthest vein to proclaim and carry the abundant life are the flitting crimson cars.”
- Sunset Magazine, October 1913