I am thrilled to report that I have been asked to be a guest composer for IWU’s 150th Anniversary celebration next Spring in Bloomington, IL! My beloved alma mater has commissioned me to compose a new piece (a response to the 4th movement of Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet) for performance in March along with another of my existing compositions. I am very humbled to be honored in this way and very excited about the opportunity.
Visit IWU’s site to see myself and other graduates from the composition program at IWU. All students of Dr. David Vayo and/or Dr. Mario Pelusi.
The commissioned piece is a “response” to the fourth movement of Schubert’s Piano Quintet in A, which will also be performed on the concert. The nickname of this piece is “The Trout Quintet” because Schubert used the melody from his song “Die Forelle” (The Trout) as the theme for the fourth movement’s theme and variations form.
As an avid angler of trout myself, I was very pleased to receive this unique commission. The image you see above appears to be a brook trout (The state fish of West Virginia, by the way) swimming next to a cutthroat trout. The cutthroat is easily identified by the red spot on the gill flap – if the fish had a “neck”, that’s where it would be. The brook trout is known by its darker green color and white-edged fins. Trout are prized, of course, for their beauty and delicate flavor. They are less well-known, however, as living indicators of the health of an aquatic ecosystem. Trout can only live in cool, clear water, and their habitats have been decimated throughout the world due to deforestation, industrial waste, and rising water temperatures.
The irony of my task is not lost on me, of course. The poem, by the German poet Schubart, is very much in favor of the trout (nature), describing how the fisherman (humanity) muddies the water and ultimately catches the fish. I will try to reconcile my inner angler with Schubert’s (and Schubart’s) heroic and tragic trout.