For Wayne Shorter
For Wayne Shorter for Violin and Piano, 7-8’.
Program note: For Wayne Shorter began as an exercise in two–part counterpoint in 2017. I expanded the piece over the years until it was finally performed in the spring of 2023.
The melody is reminiscent of a love song, with its frequent leaps up and down. Underneath is a harmony centered around E flat major that modulates unexpectedly with distant chords appearing seemingly out of nowhere. Using the lower and middle registers of the violin and piano contribute to the sultry and melancholic mood of For Wayne Shorter.
I chose to dedicate this piece to the great jazz saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter for a few reasons. He passed at the age of 89 in March 2023, around the time this piece was finally completed. His music has long been inspiring for me—I often tell people I learned more about harmony from listening to Wayne Shorter, The Beatles and Radiohead than from any textbook. The piece also bears a few similarities to his ballad “Infant Eyes”—same key, similar tempo, similar wandering harmony. For those reasons, the title stuck.
For Wayne Shorter premiered at the Composition Area Noon Concert at Portland State University on June 1 2023 by violinist Søren Collins and pianist Yujin Ham.
For Wayne Shorter for Violin and Piano, 7-8’.
Program note: For Wayne Shorter began as an exercise in two–part counterpoint in 2017. I expanded the piece over the years until it was finally performed in the spring of 2023.
The melody is reminiscent of a love song, with its frequent leaps up and down. Underneath is a harmony centered around E flat major that modulates unexpectedly with distant chords appearing seemingly out of nowhere. Using the lower and middle registers of the violin and piano contribute to the sultry and melancholic mood of For Wayne Shorter.
I chose to dedicate this piece to the great jazz saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter for a few reasons. He passed at the age of 89 in March 2023, around the time this piece was finally completed. His music has long been inspiring for me—I often tell people I learned more about harmony from listening to Wayne Shorter, The Beatles and Radiohead than from any textbook. The piece also bears a few similarities to his ballad “Infant Eyes”—same key, similar tempo, similar wandering harmony. For those reasons, the title stuck.
For Wayne Shorter premiered at the Composition Area Noon Concert at Portland State University on June 1 2023 by violinist Søren Collins and pianist Yujin Ham.
For Wayne Shorter for Violin and Piano, 7-8’.
Program note: For Wayne Shorter began as an exercise in two–part counterpoint in 2017. I expanded the piece over the years until it was finally performed in the spring of 2023.
The melody is reminiscent of a love song, with its frequent leaps up and down. Underneath is a harmony centered around E flat major that modulates unexpectedly with distant chords appearing seemingly out of nowhere. Using the lower and middle registers of the violin and piano contribute to the sultry and melancholic mood of For Wayne Shorter.
I chose to dedicate this piece to the great jazz saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter for a few reasons. He passed at the age of 89 in March 2023, around the time this piece was finally completed. His music has long been inspiring for me—I often tell people I learned more about harmony from listening to Wayne Shorter, The Beatles and Radiohead than from any textbook. The piece also bears a few similarities to his ballad “Infant Eyes”—same key, similar tempo, similar wandering harmony. For those reasons, the title stuck.
For Wayne Shorter premiered at the Composition Area Noon Concert at Portland State University on June 1 2023 by violinist Søren Collins and pianist Yujin Ham.