Moments in Time Under the Starlight, composed by Sounds Promising 2023 participant ‪@NicholasMaMusic‬.

Program Note from the Composer:

I was inspired to write this piece after seeing an image of the vast starry sky. Specks of light were scattered around the vast expanse, and bright nebulous streaks were converging on a point far in the distance. I decided to pay homage to this image through four short vignettes of moments that may have occurred at night.

I. Dusk, Dying Light draws upon the transitional period between day and night, where fleeting bursts of light quickly fade into darkness.

II. Come out and play! focuses on fun and bouncy hocketed lines. I imagine nocturnal baby creatures coming out, rolling around in the safety of darkness, and playing with each other.

III. Gentle Starlight is an exploration on capturing the shimmering quality of stars with limited aleatory, where performers are called upon to repeat boxed sections of music ad libitum.

IV. Dawn, Resplendent Light is intended to capture the soft flickers of the first rays of daybreak. As the sun slowly appears, the music aptly builds towards a luminous and brilliant climax.

This piece was written as part of the 2022/23 Salastina Sounds Promising Program. I would like to thank Salastina for this opportunity, Derrick Skye for his mentorship, and HyeJin Kim, Luanne Homzy, and Charlie Tyler for premiering this piece.
-Nicholas Ma

Sounds Promising is an apprenticeship program uniquely committed to young musicians’ professional development. The program is designed for young musicians and composers between the ages of 18 and 30.

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Performers
HyeJin Kim, piano
Luanne Homzy, violin
Charlie Tyler, cello

Filming, Video Editing, and Audio Recording
Adan Alonso

Audio Mixing
Kevin Kumar