“Over the summer of 2021, I wrote Body Memory, a collection of seven miniatures for string quartet. The piece was my first real exploration into the construction of a larger form out of discrete smaller parts—a pursuit that I found both practical and aesthetically satisfying. When I received the opportunity to compose for h2 quartet for the 2022 RED NOTE New Music Festival Composition Workshop, I decided to use the new piece to further explore and develop my ideas about collections of miniatures. The result is another set of seven: Wind Fables (2021) for saxophone quartet.

Wind Fables juxtaposes movements that feature the quartet as a whole with movements that feature a solo with trio accompaniment. In addition, each of the solo movements is loosely inspired by one of the Anemoi, the ancient Greek wind gods. In the first movement, The Call (Prologue), the quartet presents the melody upon which the entire piece is based. The volatile bari sax solo in South is inspired by Notus, the south wind who brings the storms of late summer. The god of the east wind, Eurus, bears warmth and rain in the autumn; in East, the transparent alto sax solo activates a trio accompaniment that evokes the percussive sounds of rain. In Confluence, fragments of the first movement theme are gradually overtaken by wild gusts of activity. The gentle god of the west wind, Zephyrus, heralds the arrival of spring. The mythology around Zephyrus details his numerous romantic conquests and his murder of Hyacinth in a jealous rage. In West, the aching tenor sax solo is juxtaposed with a gentle trio accompaniment that suggests the rippling of grass and newly sprouted flowers in the breeze. The harsh-tempered north wind, Boreas, brings the cold gales of winter. Boreas is depicted in the Tower of the Winds holding a conch; the hard-edged soprano sax solo in North encircles a blaring conch-like line with howling runs over icy sustains in the trio. In the final movement, The Echo (Epilogue), the first movement melody is spread throughout the quartet; thus, it is recast as a shadowy chorale, heard as if from a great distance through space or time.”