I’m collaborating with the remarkable harpist Parker Ramsay on new works that radically innovate and expand the possibilities of both our instruments. We’re performing as a duo and also a trio with cellist (and friend since student days) Jay Campbell. We’re excited to have some new pieces by terrific composers in the works!

Our first completed commission is the 40-minute duo Annäherung by Georg Friedrich Haas. It was a natural project to begin out collaboration, as I’ve been working with Georg on his Violin Concerto and Parker is very interested in the potential of Georg’s tuning ideas. In Annäherung, the harp is tuned throughout in a lush microtonal scordatura. The violinist also plays in microtonal intervals, while walking around the room or venue for about two-thirds of the piece (necessitating that the part be memorized). The piece’s concept of  “Annäherung”, or “proximity” or “approaching”, is realized in several simultaneous dimensions – sonically, temporally, and physically (with pitches, speeds, and spatial relations). The audience’s experience is wonderfully individual according to their physical location and the very fluid nature of the music.

We premiered Annäherung on February 26 in New York at the Kaufman Center, which commissioned the piece.  On that program, we also played Baroque works by Buxtehude, Schmelzer, and more, with Jay Campbell. We received this NY Times review!