Gardens on Mars to premiere

It is not so often these days I have had the opportunity to compose, and so each time becomes more precious and allows more attention to detail.

This year I'm happy to have been invited to offer a new piece for saxophone quartet Atomos, led by Arvydas Kazlauskas. It will be performed for the first time on the 28th of September in Koknese. More about the event here.

I love gardens, and dream to take care of my own one day. Gardens are a beautiful way of organising nature in harmony with human life and human needs. The idea of Gardens on Mars reflects upon the idea of a very simple human joy, placed in harsh otherworldly conditions. The piece nods towards the efforts of man to reach and colonise Mars such as the Mars Generation have been doing, while describing the growth of flowing flora and genius mechanisms for sustaining them.

The piece is conceptually constructed, with a time signature that begins in 3/8, moving through 4/8, 5/8 and 6/8 to arrive at 7/8 in the final section. Though carefully rooted in a tonality of Eb major, it uses both chromatic and modal modulation throughout.

Looking forward to it's first sounding, and hope to share the results later this autumn!