Camaraderie : Three Miniatures for flute and clarinet (2023)
1. Chasing Dreams
2. Waltzing Thru Life (in a Daze)
3. Let (them) Shine
Dedicated to Robert Aughtry
Program Notes from the composer:
This piece is dedicated to my lifelong friend and extraordinary flutist, Rob Aughtry, as a gift in celebration of his retirement from the U.S. Army Band, “Pershing’s Own” in 2023.
The first movement, “Chasing Dreams” is a short, feverish frenzy about our early friendship forged in graduate school as we shared a parallel and fiery ambition to prove ourselves as young professional musicians. The end of the movement dissolves time, pitch, and tone itself as a depiction of the two of us parting ways and our time together coming to an end.
The second movement, “Waltzing Thru Life (in a Daze)”, reflects on our time molding and fumbling through our careers while also navigating the challenges of life. The unrelated yet entwined musical material reflects our desperation to clutch onto our friendship through confusion and failures in order to recognize and discover ourselves. This piece uses rubato, mixed meter, modern techniques, and microtones to bring the listener into a new soundscape of a blurred reality.
The final movement is a simple song entitled, “Let (them) Shine” which represents the real story of our friendship which has been to love and support one other in the simplest of ways so as to allow the other to achieve their dreams. The simple and soaring melodies beautifully mirror the power of our friendship through life.
This video was taken from a free, live educational performance by the composer and Aughtry (ensemble Deux Eaux) in 2024 and will serve as a reference recording for the publisher, CAMco Music, LLC. It is used with permission from the composer. Any concerns about copyright and use should be addressed directly with the composer and publisher of the piece, thank you.