Trees (after the poem by Joyce Kilmer) for solo Flute with Narration by Daniel Dorff

Performed live on Sunday, February 17th, 2024
Mid-Atlantic Flute Convention, Washington D. C.
Faith Wasson, flute
Evoking the Poetic Spirit of Nature through Music
Trees (after the poem by Joyce Kilmer) by Daniel Dorff
Sheet music available for purchase here: www.presser.com/494-02853-tre...
"In June 2008, I bought a cozy dreamhouse and studio. Discovered after months of househunting, this was love at first sight before I even walked in, charmed and moved by a Japanese red maple and tremendous green maple on the front lawn. I had to live with these trees, and I knew my next piece had to celebrate and sanctify them, both in the meaning of the music, and with my new trees featured on the cover of the sheet music.
At the same time, I planned to write an unaccompanied flute solo with narration for Tiffany Holmes but had no ideas for the text. Before long, I remembered the famous poem ("I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree...") that many of us learned either in elementary school or from watching The Little Rascals.
With this poem as the basis for the new solo flute piece, I began work in July, took time off to compose FLASH! (for Piccolo and Piano) and then went back to finish TREES later in 2008. The narration may be performed by the flutist, since it never overlaps, or it may be spoken by a second performer.
The world premiere was performed by flutist Tiffany Holmes with Cindy Anne Broz as narrator, at the Mid-Atlantic Flute Fair in Reston, VA on February 22, 2009. This duo encored their joint performance at NFA 2009 in New York City. The first performance by a self-narrating flutist was given by Cindy Anne Broz in Temecula, CA on May 10, 2009." Notes by Daniel Dorff
Website: www.faithwasson.com
Facebook: / faithwassonflutist
Instagram: / faithwassonflutist

[@danieldorff1]

Yeah Faith!!, such a great story-telling performance with sublime pacing! Thanks for sharing the Mid-Atlantic performance with the world :-) 🙂

[@faithwassonflutist]

My pleasure!!