Chaparral Music I

When I first arrived at Yale my freshman year, I was very excited to live on the east coast and to adapt to the new environment. But before long, I found myself profoundly longing for my home of Southern California in a way I couldn’t quite pinpoint. I didn’t miss people or specific places – rather, I missed the vibe, the California climate, and simply – if it even exists – a ‘West coast’ way of life.

At the same time, my family was evacuated due to fires near our house, and a California red bark beetle infestation was destroying thousands of native California oak trees, wreaking havoc on the chaparral ecology. I grew up hiking extensively in the Santa Monica Mountains near Los Angeles: I realized that one aspect of my California life before Yale that I missed dearly was such easy access to nature and my feeling of being ‘at home’ in the chaparral. I began working on a piece in November 2019 and completed it in April 2020 with ample time to compose during the first months of COVID lockdown: with ongoing threats to and my yearning for the California ecosystem strongly mentally present, I was inspired to write Chaparral Music I, an hour-long one-movement work for solo piano channeling these feelings of longing and worry, but also a deep admiration and love of the chaparral.

Join me and pianist Max Hammond for the world-premiere performance of Chaparral Music I!