Exiles (2015) 30'

Composing is a way to talk about the things I care about, so when Paul and Sol asked me to write a new ballet for them I immediately began to think about subject matter; what exactly should a new work made in Europe in 2017 talk about? 
 
Reflecting on contemporary society I decided to make a work on the universal subject of journeys: our life is defined by our movement forward through time, and we map our physical world by journeying through it. 
 
Many of us are lucky enough to be able to influence where we are going, but for an increasing number there are very few choices: the physical journey is a necessity in order for the journey forward through time to continue at all. 
 
Exiles takes a simple musical line for a long trip. The piano and mallet instruments playing this material are surrounded by varying landscapes of orchestral string texture. The music is subjected to all sorts of transformative processes along the way: every journey leaves its mark.