Brendan Vavra - Vega

Performers: Emily Wespiser, flute; Devon LePore, clarinet; Isaac Shiman, violin; Brooks Griffith, cello;

Performed on the second Fall 2009 Student Composition Recital at the Hockett Family Recital Hall in the James J. Whalen School of Music at Ithaca College on November 11th, 2009.

There are 5 movements (played consecutively in this video), listed as days:
Day I - The Stranger
Day II - The Encounter
Day III - The Game
Day IV - The Fight
Day V - The Disappearance

This piece is based on a true story about a stray cat (portrayed by the clarinet) that appeared at my doorstep last summer. In this retelling the human (flute) cares for the cat in hopes of gaining her trust, while the human's pre-existing cats (the violin and cello) look upon the stray in disdain for invading their territory. The cat was named Vega after the brightest star in the constellation Lyra. Using the name as an influence on pitch material for this piece, I mapped musical intervals onto each constellation in the summer triangle (shown) to derive a unique harmonic language for each instrument.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• chamber
• vavra
• vega
• cat
• summer triangle
• clarinet