Draw the Sound

Instrumentation | tuba/bassoon and piano

Year | 2017

Duration | 6' 30"

Premiere | Premiered by Brendan Ige and Amy Ige at the University of Michigan on February 26, 2018

Note | Draw the Sound (2017) imagines different textures and images into musical notes. The piece can be divided into three sections, which explore different timbres created by tuba/bassoon and piano. The music begins with short notes in a sparse manner, an image of dots in different sizes and colors. A single note becomes two and more to create a line, and the rhythmic interplay between the two instruments creates a whimsical character. The second section, initiated by a long and slow melodic line, develops into a more explosive one by featuring different techniques for tuba such as glissandos, scoops, and flutter tongues. In the final section, while tuba plays a beautiful melody in its wide range of register and color, piano fills the background with virtuosic and grand arpeggios.