Intermezzo: End, Begin

Instrumentation: 2 Flutes (Piccolo) / 2 Oboes / 2 Clarinets in Bb / Bass Clarinet in Bb / 2 Bassoons / 4 Horns in F / 2 Trumpets in C (Flugelhorn) / 2 Trombones / Bass Trombone / Tuba / Timpani / 3 Percussion / Piano (Celesta) / Strings

Program note: Upon reaching the end of a very difficult time in my life, it occurred to me that periods of change and transition are the times in which we grow the most as people. Our understanding of the world is shaped by our experiences and considerable transformations take place when things are least certain because we are forced to find ways to make sense of our circumstances. To me, this intermezzo expresses not the end or the beginning, but the inbetween time connecting two distinctly different life experiences. First, the curse must be lifted and only then can the healing, the recovery, and the rediscovery begin.

"The evening began with the premiere of University of Michigan composition student Kirsten Volness' "Intermezzo: End, Begin,'' in which woodwinds were punctuated by some interesting percussion. The work, which began in an almost meditative way, building from there to an airy, dance-like climax, was a promising debut for the composer."
—Ann Arbor News