Family Portrait

Instrumentation: Woodwind Quintet

(flute, oboe, clarinet, horn in F, bassoon)

Date Completed: August 2018

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I. Mom

II. Eva

III. Olivia

IV. Dad

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View Score

Notes:  Family Portrait for woodwind quintet is my response to Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations. My piece consists of five short vignettes that each depict a family member’s personality. In each movement, one instrument takes the lead and acts as a relative’s voice: the flute represents my fun-loving, active sister Eva; the oboe represents my sweet, reserved sister Olivia; the clarinet represents my jack-of-all-trades mother; the bassoon represents my passionate, supportive father; and the horn (my instrument) represents me. The modern American family, like the woodwind quintet, is often scorned for being dysfunctional and broken, but with this piece, I hope to prove that five individuals with completely different characters can form one harmonious whole.

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