When I was growing up, my mother would always tell me that if I saw a cardinal outside, it was a loved one who had passed on, coming to watch over me. Whenever I see a cardinal, my mind goes straight to my grandmother. She was my best friend when I was young, and I would always look forward to our weekend sleepovers. Unfortunately, she succumbed to a very long and hard battle with breast cancer when I was around 8 years-old, and I thought I lost my biggest role model. What I’ve come to realize is that she may not physically be here with me anymore, she is always watching over me, even if I may not realize it in the moment. 

“Song of a Loved One” is a very slow and serene piece written for solo vibraphone and electronics. The piece begins with a pre-recorded track of wind, as the vibraphone quietly enters through the existing sound. A short motif repeats through the piece as a lone mimic of a cardinal call, eventually as a call and response to a real cardinal call.

This piece serves as project number 5 out of 11, where I spend each week of summer crafting with a different artform. I had multiple ideas for what this project would be, but every idea went out the window when I went to a park and found a set of chimes on the playground. I was completely infatuated by them. The melody that the vibraphone plays in the beginning of the piece is a transcription of what I played on the playground chimes. From there, I let my imagination completely take over, just like I was a kid again. 

“metals at play” is an energetic and fun piece written for glockenspiel, vibraphone, and chimes. The piece begins slowly and softly, as the main melody is introduced. Throughout the piece, the melody can be seen and heard expanded in multiple ways, as if it were endlessly flowing through a child’s imagination.