Sam Wu: cetacean songs (2023), concerto for cello and sinfonietta 

www.samwumusic.com/cetacean-songs
Dana Rath, solo cello
Hannah Tassler, flute / piccolo
Joshua Bullock, oboe
Triniti Rives, clarinet
Demetra Alikakos, bassoon
London Stovall, horn
Kiran Samuel, trombone
Sam Rachleff, percussion
Emily Richardson, Sofia Matthews, Hannah Corbett, David Hung, violins
Gabe Galley, Jimmy Cunningham, violas
Emma Cary, Samuel Sykes, cellos
Kevin Fink, double bass
Sam Wu, conductor
Whalesong is remarkably sophisticated. Its patterns of repetition and variation mirror structures found in human music; its geographical diversity suggests distinct, yet overlapping, dialects and cultures; it exhibits hallmarks of language, including grammar and syntax--we just don’t understand what whales are saying (yet).
"cetacean songs" is a meditation on the complex beauty of marine mammal vocalisations, and in extension, a meditation on how vast our oceans are, and how little we know about these underwater worlds and their inhabitants.
3/25/24: Duncan Recital Hall, the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, Houston, TX
#cello #concerto #whale #song #rice #orchestra #newmusic #houston